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HIGHERENGLISH  GRAMMA! 

BAIN 


•  lAfa\ 


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PROFESSOR    BAIN'S 

ENGLISH  GRAMMARS 


A  BRIEF  ENGLISH   GRAMMAR,  Oil   a 

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HANDBOOKS  for  Students  and  General  Readers. 


A  HIGHER  .. 


ENGLISH    GRAMMAR 


ALEXANDER    BAIN,   LL.D, 

Professor  of  Logic  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen. 


NEW  EDITION 
REVISED    AND   ENLARGED 


NEW  YORK 
HENRY  HOLT  AND   COMPANY 

1880 


EDUCAT!0J 


J. 

PBINTEB, 

15  Vande water  St., 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  tDITION. 


THE  present  work  has  been  composed  with  more  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  class  of  English  Composition 
(attached  to  the  Chair  of  Logic)  in  the  University  of 
Aberdeen. 

While  availing  myself  of  the  best  works  on  the 
English  Language,  I  have  kept  steadily  in  view  the 
following  plan. 

Under  Etymology,  the  three  departments:  1st,  Classi- 
fication of  Words  or  the  Parts  of  Speech;  2nd, Inflexion; 
3rd,  Derivation,  hav<3  been  separately  discussed.  This 
method  I  think  better  adapted  for  conveying  gramma- 
tical information  than  the  older  one,  of  exhausting 
successively  each  of  the  Parts  of  Speech  in  all  its 
relations. 

The  practice  of  explaining  the  precise  meanings  of 
the  frequently  recurring  words  of  the  language,  such  as 
pronouns,  articles,  distributive  adjectives,  prepositions, 
and  conjunctions,  has  here  been  systematically  followed 
out.  Words  of  this  description  are  not  numerous. 
Belonging  alike  to  all  subjects  and  all  styles,  they  are 
the  very  hinges  of  composition.  The  explanation  of 
them,  so  long  as  it  is  confined  to  a  small  compass,  is  a 
proper  office  of  the  grammarian,  although  therein  he 
may  seem  to  intrude  a  little  on  the  province  of  the 
lexicographer. 


IV  .     *  PREFACE. 

A'-siinilai:  fffon.  is  carried  out  in  the  second  part  of 

f^ynYologyJ— Inflexion.     Thus,   the    meanings   of    the 

•"  differeM  moods  and  tenses  of  the  verb  are  explained  as 

accurately  as  the  writer's  knowledge  would  enable  him. 

Almost  all  the  newer  grammars  recognise  the  expediency 

of  this  course. 

So  with  regard  to  Derivation,  the  meanings  of  the 
significant  prefixes  and  suffixes  are  stated.  Under  this 
head,  such  an  account  has  been  given  of  the  sources  of 
the  English  vocabulary,  as  in  a  great  measure  to  dispense 
with  an  Etymological  dictionary. 

One  advantage  of  the  plan  now  described  is  the 
simplifying  of  Syntax,  which,  when  freed  from  all 
matters  relating  to  the  meanings  of  words  and  of  inflex- 
ions, may  fall  entirely  under  the  three  heads  of  Concord. 
Government,  and  Order  or  Arrangement  of  words  ;  this 
last  part  being  what  in  our  language  most  requires  the 
careful  attention  of  the  pupil. 

For  the  sake  of  the  accurate  definition  of  the  Parts  of 
Speech,  as  well  as  for  General  Syntax,  the  recently 
introduced  system  of  the  Analysis  of  Sentences  is  fully 
explained.  On  this  subject  the  method  given  by  Mr, 
C.  P.  Mason  has  been  principally  followed. 

A  short  account  of  the  English  Alphabet  is  prefixed, 
but  Orthography  at  large  is  not  entered  on  in  this  work. 
The  subjects  of  Prosody,  Figures  of  Speech,  and  Style, 
are  also  reserved,  it  being  purposed  to  include  them  in  a 
separate  manual  of  Rhetoric. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  idioms  and  constructions  of 
the  language,  this  grammar  contains  one  novelty  of  im- 
portance, namely,  the  explanation  of  the  precise  uses  of 


PREFACE.  V 

the  relatives,  'That,'  'Who,'  and  'Which'.  The  dis- 
tinction between  'that'  on  the  one  hand,  and  'who'  and 
'  which  '  cm  the  other,  was  clearly  perceived  by  our 
idiomatic  writers  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  last  century; 
but  owing  to  an  unfortunate  misapprehension  as  to  the 
peculiarly  English  idiom  of  throwing  a  preposition  to 
the  end  of  a  clause,  the  relative  'that'  is  now  very  little 
employed  in  book  composition,  'who' and  'which' being 
made  to  serve  in  its  stead.  For  my  first  knowledge  of 
the  real  distinction  I  was  indebted,  more  than  twenty 
years  ago,  to  a  communication  from  Dr.  Thomas  Clark, 
then  of  Marischal  College. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  grammar  my  acknow- 
ledgments are  more  especially  due  to  Mr.  C.  P.  Mason 
(English  Grammar),Dr.  Angus  (Handbook  of  the  English 
Tongue),  Mr.  Ernest  Adams  (Elements  of  the  English 
Language),  Dr.  Latham's  Works,  Dr.  Charles  W.Connon 
(English  Grammar),  Dr.  Crombie  (Etymology  and  Syntax 
of  the  English  Language),  Dr.Morell  (English  Grammar},, 
Mr.  0.  Allen  Ferris  (English  Etymology),  Mr.  T.  Kerch- 
ever  Arnold  (English  Grammar),  Rev.  A.  J.  D.  D'Orsey 
(English  Grammar,  Chambers's  Course),  Mr.  Brandon 
Turner  (English  Grammar],  Mr.  Matthew  Harrison  (The 
English  Language),  and  Mr.  Henry  H.  Breen  (Modern 
English  Literature).  I  am  also  much  indebted  to  an  out- 
line of  English  Grammar,  in  Chambers's  Information 
for  the  People,  written  by  Dr.  Andrew  Findlater,  Editor 
of  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia. 

ABERDEEN,  November,  1863 


PREFACE  TO  THE  PRFGENT  EDITION. 


IN  reprinting  the  Grammar  for  the  present  edition, 
the  typography  has  been  remodelled  in  such  a  way  as 
to  facilitate  the  ready  apprehension  of  the  learner.  At 
the  same  time,  the  matter  has  undergone  both  revision 
and  enlargement.  The  effect  of  the  changes  has  been 
to  increase  the  bulk  by  considerably  over  one-half. 

In  carrying  out  the  original  design  of  the  work,  as 
stated  in  the  foregoing  Preface,  many  additional 
examples  have  been  introduced  to  illustrate  the 
numerous  phases  of  our  grammatical  forms  and  idioms. 
This  I  consider  to  be  the  most  thoroughly  practical  aim 
of  an  English  Grammar. 

The  chief  part  of  the  extension,  however,  is  in 
relation  to  the  historical  development  of  our  grammatical 
peculiarities.  The  great  advance  in  the  historical  study 
of  English  in  its  various  forms,  from  the  oldest  writings 
downwards,  has  been  sedulously  turned  to  account. 
Probably  none  of  the  most  important  authorities  have 
been  overlooked.  Throughout  the  work,  acknowledg- 
ments for  particular  suggestions  are  made  as  they  occur. 
While  it  would  be  endless  to  note  every  source  of 
information,  it  is  necessary  to  single  out  for  general 
acknowledgment  the  help  that  has  been  at  all  stages 
derived,  whether  directly,  or  by  way  of  suggestion, 


Till  PREFACE. 

from  the  works  of  Dr.  Kichard  Morris.  Among  the 
other  pioneers  of  Early  English  investigation,  and  of 
philological  research  at  Jarjje,  have  to  be  mentioned 
Professor  Whitney,  Mr.  Peile,  Rev.  W.  W.  Skeat,  and 
Mr.  H.  Sweet.  The  German  writers  on  English 
Grammar  have  necessarily  been  included  among  the 
authorities.  Nevertheless  it  was  incumbent  to  avoid 
overloading  the  work  with  this  class  of  illustration,  and 
to  select  only  those  most  fitted  for  the  student  of  the 
Higher  Grammar.  Whether  the  line  has  been  properly 
drawn,  must  be  judged  differently  by  different  persons. 
To  do  the  most  for  the  pupils,  within  given  limits,  is 
the  object  aimed  at ;  and  the  class  of  pupils  principally 
addressed  are  those  that  desire,  above  all  other  things, 
to  receive  aid  in  attaining  the  power  of  English 
Composition. 

Since  the  Grammar  first  appeared,  I  have  published, 
in  addition  to  a  Manual  of  Rhetoric  and  Composition, 
two  separate  Grammatical  works  :  one — A  First  Gram- 
mar, preparatory  to  the  study  of  the  present  ;  the  other 
— A  Companion  to  the  Higher  Grammar.  In  the 
present  revision,  care  has  been  taken  to  keep  the  work 
in  its  proper  place,  in  relation  to  these  two. 

A  very  important  adjunct  to  Grammatical  teaching, 
according  to  my  conception  of  it,  is  provided  in  a 
recent  book,  entitled  First  Work  in  English  (Long- 
mans), by  Mr.  A.  F.  Murison,  formerly  English  Master 
in  the  Grammar  School  of  Aberdeen.  This  book  is  a 
happy  combination  of  Grammar,  properly  so  called, 
with  an  exhibition  of  the  wealth  of  the  language  in 
Equivalent  Forms.  It  may  be  taught  both  in  advance 


PREFACE.  ix 

of  the  Grammar  and  along  with  it ;  and,  in  either 
case,  will  largely  promote  the  final  end  of  all  instruc- 
tion in  English — to  give  the  pupils  a  mastery  of  their 
own  language. 

ABERDEEN,  January,  1879* 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


THE  ALPHABET. 

PAGE 

1-3.  Vowel  Scheme 1 

4.  Consonants 5 

ETYMOLOGY. 
THE  SENTENCE. 

1.  Speech  is  made  up  of  Sentences 8 

2.  Usual  form  of  Sentence,  of  an  affirmation  or  a  denial.  ib. 

3.  A  Sentence  consists  of  a  Subject  and  a  Predicate          .  9 

4.  The  nakwd  Sentence. — The  NOUN  and  the  VERB         .  10 

5.  The  Predicate  enlarged  by  an  Object .         .         .         .11 

6.  The  Subject  and  the  Object  enlarged.  — The  ADJFCTIVE  ib. 

7.  The  Predicate  enlarged  by  the  manner  of  the  action. — 

The  ADVERB 12 

8.  Adverbial  Phrases— Many-worded  Adverbs         .         .  ib. 

9.  The  Adverbial  Phrase  yields  the  PREPOSITION   .         .  ib. 

10.  Two  Sentences  united  by  a   connecting   word.  — The 

CONJUNCTION 13 

11.  The  Subject  or  the  Object  given  by  a  word  of  reference. 

— The  PRONOUN ib. 

THE  PARTS  OF  SPEECH. 
THE  NOUN. 

1-8.  Definition  of  the  Noun 14 

4.  Classes  of  Nouns.     I.  PROPER,  SINGULAR,  MEANING- 

LESS        ib. 

5.  II.  COMMON,  GENERAL,  SIGNIFICANT  Nouns    .        .  ib. 

6.  Singular  Objects  with  Significant  Names    ...  18 

7.  CLASS  Names  are  General  and  Significant  .         .         .  ib. 

8.  III.  COLLECTIVE  Nouns    .        .        .        .        .        .19 

9.  IV.  MATERIAL  Nouns ib. 

10.  V.  ABSTRACT  Nouns 21 

11.  Abstract  Nouns  mostly  derived  from  Adjectives          .  ib. 

12.  Other  Abstract  Nouns  formed  from  Verbs           .         .  22 

13.  Abstract  Nouns  are  by  nature  Singular       .        ,        .  ib. 


Xll  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

Uses  of  the  Noun. 

14.  In  its  typical  application,  the  Noun  names  the  Sub- 

ject 23 

15.  The  Noun  sometimes  completes  the  Predicate    .         .  ib. 
l(j.  The  Noun  is  used  in  forming  Prepositional  Phrases    .  ib. 

17.  The  Noun  frequently  acts  as  an  Adjective  .         .         .  ib. 

Substitutes  for  the  Noun. 

18.  The  Pronoun  regularly  takes  the  place  of  the  Noun    ,  24 

19.  Adjectives  are  often  turned  into  Nouns       .         .         .  ib. 

20.  The  Infinitive  of  the  Verb  is  substantially  a  Noun      .  ib. 

21.  Even  Adverbs  occasionally  appear  as  Nouns        .         .  ib. 

22.  A  Noun  Clause  is  the  fullest  equivalent  to  a  Noun     .  25 

THE  PRONOUN. 

1.  The  Pronoun  is  a  relational  word        .         .         .        .  25 

2.  Classes  of  Pronouns — I.  The  PERSONAL     •        .        •  ib. 

3.  II.   DEMONSTRATIVE 26 

4.  5.   'He.'     'She' ib. 

6.  Meaning  of  '  It ' *        .  27 

(1)  Backward  or  Retrospective  Reference  of  '  it'      .         .  ib. 

(2)  Forward  or  Anticipative  Reference    .         .         .         .  ib. 

(3)  The  Vague  or  Indefinite  Reference    .         .  28 
Further  general  examples  of  the  uses  of  '  it '       .         ,  29 

7.  'They'      .      - 30 

8.  The  Demonstratives  '  This  '  and  '  That '     .         .         .  ib. 

9.  Indefinite  Pronouns  :— ' They',  'One'        ...  31 
10.  Reflexive  Pronouns  by  means  of  '  self '        ...  32 
11-15.  III.  INTERROGATIVE  Pronouns     ....  33 

16.  IV.  RELATIVE.  Pronouns ib. 

17.  A  Relative  Pronoun  involves  the  power  of  a  conjunc- 

tion   34 

18.  'Who '  is  best  applied  as  co-ordinating      .         .         .  ib. 
'  Who '  is  frequently  used  as  restrictive      .         ,         .  35 

19.  '  Which  '  is  similarly  employed           ....  ib. 
'  Which  '  may  refer  to  a  whole  statement   ...  36 
'  Which  '  in   apparent   reference  to   persons.       '  The 

which ' ib. 

20.  'That '  is  the  proper  Relative  of  Restriction        .         .  ib. 
Proposed  limitation  of  '  that '  to  this  special  meaning  37 

21.  '  What '  and  its  compounds 38 

22-28.  Substitutes  for  the  Proper  Relatives  :  '  as  ',  '  but ', 

'when',  'where',  'whence',  'whither',  'why'     .  ib. 

,29.   The  Compound  Relatives  :   '  whoever  ',  '  whoso  ',  &c.  40 

30.  Further  examples  of  Relative  Construction          .         .  41 

31.  The  Pronoun  saves  the  repetition  of  a  Noun.     Other 

modes  of  serving  the  same  end  ,         .  47 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE 


47 
48 
ib. 
49 
50 
51 
ib. 
52 
ib. 
ib. 


THE  ADJECTIVE. 

1.  The  Adjective  limits  the  application  of  tie  Noun 

2.  The  Adjective  Inflexion  as  a  distinguishing  mark 

3.  Classes  of  Adjectives — I.   PRONOMINAL 
4-5.   Pronominal  Demonstrative  Adjectives     . 

6.  Pronominal  Interrogative  Adjectives  . 

7.  Pronominal  Relative  Adjectives          .  . 

8.  Pronominal  Possessive  Adjectives       .  , 

9.  II.  Adjectives  expressing  QUANTITY 

10.  Quantity  in  Mass  or  Bulk  .... 

11.  Quantity  in  Number — Definite  Numeral  Adjectives 

12.  Indefi-iite  Numeral  Adjectives 53 

13.  Distributive  Numeral  Adjectives        ....  55 

14.  III.  Adjectives  of  QUALITY 56 

15.  PROPER  Adjectives  , ib. 

The  Articles. 

16.  17.   'An' or  < A' 57 

18.  '  The  ' — Its  various  meanings     .         .         ...       58 

Substitutes  for  the  Adjective.      * 

19.  The  fullest  equivalent  is  the  Adjective  Clause     .         .  60 

20.  The  Participial  Phrase,  if  shorter,  is  equally  useful     .  ib. 

21.  The  Prepositional  Phrase  is  still  more  condensed          .  ib. 

22.  The  Noun  employed  as  an  Adjective  ....  ib. 

23.  Nouns  and  Pronouns  in  the  Possessive  form        .         .  61 

24.  Adverbs  and  Prepositions  are  occasional  substitutes    .  ib. 

Co  ordinating  or  Predicate  Adjectives. 

25.  The  Adjective  as  complement  of  Incomplete  Verb       .       62 

26.  This  usage  shows  the  Co-ordinating  application  .       ib. 

27.  By   condensation,  co-ordinating   Adjectives   may   be 

prefixed  to  nouns ib. 

THE  VERB. 

1.  The  Verb  necessary  to  Predication     .         .         ,        •  63 

2.  Classes  of  Verbs— I.  TRANSITIVE. — Reflexive     .        .  ib. 
Reci2)rocal  Verbs 64 

3.  II.  INTRANSITIVE  Verbs ib. 

Intransitive  with  preposition  treated  as  Transitives    .  ib. 

4.  III.   Incomplete,  Apposition,  or  Copula  Verbs   .         .  65 

5.  6.  Auxiliary  and  Impersonal  Verbs   ....      ib. 
7.  Other  parts  of  Speech  used  as  Verbs  ....      ib. 


XIV  TABLE    OF    CONTE:N7TS. 


THE  ADVERB. 

1.  Limits  or  modifies  the  meaning  of  Verbs,  Adjectives, 

or  other  Adverbs.     But  of  Prepositions,  only  appar- 
ently       66 

2.  Adverbs  divided  into  Simple  and  Relative.         .         .  67 

3.  I.  Adverbs  of -PLACE ib. 

4.  Adverbs  expressing  Rest  in  a  Place     ....  68 

5.  6.   Motion  to  a  Place,  and  from  a  place        ...  69 
7-11.   II.   Adverbs  denoting  TIME.  — Time  Present  .         .  ib. 

Past,  Future ;  Duration,  Repetition            ...  70 

12.  III.  Adverbs  signifying  DEGREE  or  MEASURE    .         .  71 

13.  Important  Adverbs  of   Comparison : — So,  As,  Than, 

The,  Too,  &c ib. 

14.  IV. -BELIEF,  DISBELIEF,  and  UNCERTAINTY      .        .  73 

15.  V.  CAUSE  and  EFFECT,  including  Instrumentality     .  74 

16.  VI.  MANNER  or  QUALITY          .         .         .  ib. 

17.  Adverbs  of  Manner  transferred  to  express  Degree        .  75 

18.  Adverbs  formed  from  Participles         .         .         .         .  ib. 

Substitutes  for  the  Simple  Adverb. 

19.  Adverbial  Phrases  and  Clauses ib. 

20.  Other  Parts  of  Speech  used  as  Adverbs  ;  Nouns,  Pro- 

nouns, Adjectives,  Verbs,  Prepositions  ...  77 

THE  PREPOSITION. 

1.  Preposition  defined    . 78 

2.  Prepositions  corresponding  to  case-endings          .         .  79 

3.  'Of.     Its  meanings ib. 

4.  'To'.             ,              83 

5.  'For'.            ,              84 

6.  'From'.        ,              86 

7.  'By'.                          ib. 

8.  'With'.        ,             .......  87 

9.  Prepositions  of  I.  PLACE 88 

10.   Prepositions  of  Rest  in  a  place  .....  89 

11,12.   Motion  with  direction,  and  Place  and  direction     .  90 

13.  II.  Prepositions  of  TIME 97 

14.  III.  AGENCY 98 

15.  IV.  END ib. 

16.  V.  REFERENCE ib. 

17.  VI.  SEPARATION  and  EXCLUSION      .        .        . 

18.  VII.  INCLINATION  and  Conformity 

19.  VIII.   AVERSION 

20.  21.  IX.  SUBSTITUTION.  X.  POSSESSION,  Material 


22.  The  Preposition  distinguishe^from  the  Adverb 


ib. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  XT 


THE  CONJUNCTION. 

1.  The  Conjunction  denned 100 

2.  Division  of  Conjunctions  as  Co-ordinating  and  Subor- 

dinating          .         .  101 

3.  I.  CO-ORDINATING  Conjunctions  ;  their  character      .  ib. 

4.  (1.)  Cumulative  Conjunctions:  represented  by  'and'  ib. 

5.  (2.)  Adversative  Conjunctions  :  (a)  Exclusive— 'else' 

&c 103 

(&)  Alternative  :'  either—  or  ',  &c.          .        .        .104 

(c)  Arrestive  :  'but',  &c 105 

6.  (3.)  Illative  Conjunctions  :  as  'therefore'           .        .  107 

7.  II.  SUBORDINATING  Conjunctions  :  their  character    .  108 

8.  (1.)  Conjunctions  of  Eeason  and  Cause     ^.         .        .  ib. 

9.  (2 )  Supposition,  Condition,  or  Qualification      •       '  •  110 

10.  (3.)  End  or  Purpose,  Precaution         .         .        •        .112 

11.  (4.)  Time 113 

THE  INTERJECTION— EXCLAMATION  .        .        •        •  114 

INFLEXION. 
INFLEXION  OF  NOUNS. 


1.  Natural  Gender.     Gender  follows  Sex.     Gender — Mas- 

culine, Feminine,  Neuter,  Common        .         .         .115 

2.  Purely  Grammatical  Gender       .         .         .         .         .116 

3.  Gender  distinguished  by  employing  different  words    .     117 

4.  By  Prefixes 118 

5.  By  Suffixes 119 

6.  Poetical  Gender  :  Inanimate  objects  personified  .         .     122 

7.  Pronouns  and  the  Gender  of  Nouns.     The  Common 

Gender ib. 

NUMBER. 

1.  Meaning  of  Number  :  Singular  and  Plural          •        •     123 

2.  Usual  formation  of  the  Plural    ..,.»>•&. 

3.  Obsolete  modes  of  forming  the  Plural          .         .         .126 

4.  Nouns  having  the  same  form  in  both  numbers   .         .127 

5.  Many  Foreign  words  retain  their  original  Plurals        .       ib. 

6.  Some  Nouns  have  two  Plurals,  with  separate  mean- 

ings       128 

7.  The  Plural  sometimes  differs  in  meaning  from  the 

Singular ib. 

8.  Some  Nouns  are  used  only  in  the  Plural    .         .         ,129 

9.  Some  Plural  forms  are  construed  as  singular      *         .      ib. 


Xvi  TABLE   OP   CONTENTS. 

PAGH 

10.  A  few  Singular  forms  are  treated  as  Plural         ^        .130 

11.  Proper  Nouns  sometimes  become  Plural     .         .         .      ib. 

12.  13.   Material  and  Abstract  Nouns  are  naturally  Singu- 

lar :  special  plural  cases         .         .         .         .         .131 

14.  Nouns  of  Multitude  :  singular  form,  plural  construc- 

tion         ib. 

15.  Omission  of  the  Article  a  sign  of  the  Plural        .         .  ib. 

16.  Sign  of  the  Plural  sometimes  dispensed  with      .         .  ib. 

17.  Special  meanings  of  the  Plural 132 

18.  Formation  of  the  Plural  of  Compound  Nouns     .         .  ib. 

CASE. 

1 .  Meaning  of  Case        .         .                 .        .        .        .  133 

2.  Cases  in  English ib. 

3.  General  Formation  of  the  Possessive  ....  ib. 

4.  The  '  s  '  of  the  Possessive  occasionally  dropt       .         .  134 

5.  The  Possessive  formation  in  Compound  Nouns   .         .  135 

6.  The  Possessive  Inflexion  limited  to  certain  classes  of 
Names ib. 

7.  's' — the  inflexion  of  personal  possession     .         .         .136 

8.  Remnants  of  Case-inflexion  in  pronouns  and  adverbs  .  137 

INFLEXION  OF  PRONOUNS. 

1.  Extent  of  the  Inflexion  of  Pronouns  .        .        .     137 

2.  PERSONAL  PRONOUNS  declined ib. 

3.  The  DEMONSTRATIVES       ...  .138 

4.  The  Reflexive  .Pronouns,  formed  by  « self '  .     140 

5.  The  INTERROGATIVES        ...  .141 

6.  The  RELATIVES          ....  •      ib 

Substitutes  for  Relative  Inflexions  .     142 

7.  Nouns  after  Plural  Possessive  Pronouns  .     143 

INFLEXION  OF  ADJECTIVES. 

1.  Adjectives  Inflected  for  Degree— Comparison      .        .143 

fi.  Positive,  Comparative,  and  Superlative  Degrees          .     144 

3.  Certain  Modifications  in  Spelling       .         .         .         .145 

4.  Comparison  by  help  of  '  more  '  and  '  most '        .         .       ib. 

5.  Forms  in  -ior  from  Latin,  partial  comparatives  .         .146 

6.  Irregular  and  Defective  Comparison  ....       ib. 

7.  Double  Comparatives  and  Superlatives  discouraged     .     149 

8.  Certain  Adjectives,  from  their  meaning,  are  not  com- 

pared      ib. 

9.  Roundabout  equivalents  to  a  superlative  fojTn     .         .150 

10.  Relative  Applications  of  Comparative  and  Superlative      ib. 

11.  Eminence  or  Intensity  expressed        .         .         .  ib. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  XV11 

PAGE 

INFLEXION  OF  ADVERBS. 
1,  2.  Regular  and  Irregular  Comparison  of  Adverbs        .     151 

INFLEXION  OF  VERBS. 

1.  The  various  Relations  of  the  Verb      .         .         •         ,151 

2.  The  corresponding  Inflexions                        .         .         •  ib. 

3.  VOICE  :  Active  and  Passive 152 

4.  MOOD  :  Indicative,  Subjunctive,  Imperative    '    .         *  ib. 

5.  Infinitive 154 

6.  Participle 155 

7.  Gerund 157 

8.  TENSE.     Strong  and  weak  forms         ....  ib. 

9.  PERSON  and  NUMBER 159 

10.  The  English  Verb  undergoes  few  changes  .         .         .161 

11.  Conjugation  of  two  kinds  :    Old  or   Strong,   New  or 

Weak ib. 

12.  Example  of  Strong  or  Old  Conjugation       .        .         .       ib. 

13.  Example  of  Weak  or  New  Conjugation       .         .         .162 

The  Auxiliary  Verbs. 

14.  The  Auxiliary  Verbs ib. 

15.  '  Be  '  :  its  forms,  and  how  it  helps  •         .  163 

16.  '  Have '  :  its  forms,  and  how  it  helps          .         .         .     165 

17.  'Shall' and  'Will'  conjugated          .          .         .         .166 
18-25.  Meanings  of  '  Shall '  and  '  Will'  .         .        .         .167 
26.   '  Shall '  and  '  Will '  in  Interrogative  Sentences  .         .     170 

27-30.    '  Should  '  and  '  Would ' 174 

31.   '  Do  '  :  its  forms,  and  its  applications         .         .         .176 
32-36.   '  May '  and  '  Can  '  :  their  forms,  and  difference  of 

use 177 

37-39.  'Must.'  'Ought.'  'Go.' 179 

40.  Complete  scheme  of  the  Verb  as  made  up  by  help  of 

Auxiliaries    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .180 

Meanings  of  the  Moods. 

41-44.  Meanings  of  the  Subjunctive  Mood  :  in  Subordin- 
ate Clauses 182 

45.  In  Principal  Clauses 184 

46.  The  Infinitive.     Erroneous  use  of  the  perfect  form     .  185 

Meanings  of  the  Tenses. 

47-49.  Meanings  of  the  Present  Indefinite        .         .         .  •   ib. 

50.  Present  Progressive,  Imperfect,  or  Incomplete   .         .     186 

51,  52.   Past  Indefinite.     Past  Progressive        .         .         .187 


XV111  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

53.  Perfect 183 

54.  Progressive  Tenses  of  the  Passive  Voice  :  '  The  house 

is  building '  . ib. 

55.  Apparent  passive  of  Intransitive  Verbs  :  '  has  come  ' 

and  '  is  come  ' 189 

The  Strong  Conjugation. 

56.  Its  special  forms.     Principle  of  following  classification    190 
57-61.   Classified  lists  of  Old  or  Strong  Verbs    .         .  ib. 

The  Weak  Conjugation. 

62.  Its  special  forms        .         .         .         .         •         •        •     197 

63.  Classified  lists  of  New  or  "Weak  Verbs        .        .        .      ib. 

DERIVATION. 

SOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  WORDS. 

1.  English  Vocabulary  has  two  principal  sources — Anglo- 

Saxon  and  Latin,  and  a  number  of  minor  sources  .     203 

2,  3.   Introduction  of  the  classical  element.     I.  During 

the  Roman  occupation  of  the  island        .  .     204 


4.  II.  After  the  introduction  of  Christianity  . 

5.  III.  After  the  Norman  conquest        .         . 

6.  IV.   After  the  Revival  of  Learning     .        , 

7.  Celtic  words      ...  .         • 

8.  Scandinavian  words 

9.  Dutch,  German,  and  Flemish  words 


205 
206 
208 
210 
212 
ib. 


10.   Words  recently  introduced  from  the  French 
11-24.   Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Walloon,  Swiss,  Tur- 
kish,   Arabic,    Hebrew,    Persian,    Hindu,    Malay, 

Chinese,  Polynesian,  American       ....  213 

25.  Words  derived  from  Persons       .         .         .        .         .216 

26.  „              from  Places 217 

27-34.  Rules    for   distinguishing    Native   from   Classical 

words,  based  on  the  Form      .         .         .         .         .  ib. 

35.  Native  words  are  farther  distinguished  by  what  they 

denote .  219 

36.  Names  of  Kindred,  Home,  and  Natural  Feelings        .  ib. 

37.  Names  of  familiar  Objects  and  Movements          .         .  ib. 

38.  Names  of  common  Industry 222 

39.  Civil  and  Religious  Institutions          ....  ib. 
40,41.   National  Proverbs.     Invective  and  Satire     .         .  223 
42.  Particular  Objects  as  opposed  to  the  General  or  Ab- 
stract   ib. 

43-45.  Exceptions    .        . ib. 


TABLE    OF    CONTEXTS.  XIX 

PAGE 

COMPOSITION  OF  WORDS. 

1.  Two  kinds  of  Compounds  N 224 

PREFIXES. 

2.  Prefixes  of  Home  origin     .          .....  225 

3.  Prefixes  of  Classical  origin          .....  228 

4.  Latin  Prefixes,  and  French  modifications   .         .         .  ib. 

5.  Greek  Prefixes .234 

DERIVATION   OF  .THE   PARTS   OF   SPEECH. 

6.  Some  Nouns  are  primitive,  or  not  derived  from  others  236 

7.  Derived  Nouns  :  whence  formed,  and  how          .         .  ib. 

8.  I.  Nouns  derived  from  other  Nouns  by  various  means  ib. 

9.  II.   Nouns  derived  from  Adjectives     ....  241 

10.  III.  Nouns  derived  from  Verbs          .         .         .         .242 

11.  Derivation  of  Adjectives  :  I.  From  Nouns          .        .  246 

12.  II.   From  other  Adjectives          .  249 

13.  III.  From  Verbs 250 

14.  Derivation  of  Verbs  :  I.  From  Nouns        .         .         .251 

15.  16.   II.  From  Adjectives.     III.   From  other  Verbs      .  252 

17.  Derivation  of  Adverbs :    chiefly  from  Adjectives  and 

Nouns 253 

18.  Derivation  of  Prepositions 254 

IP.   Derivation  of  Conjunctions 255 

20.  Derivatives  expressing  Negation         ....  ib. 

21.  Modified  Forms 256 

COMPOUND  WORDS. 

22.  Description  and  Examples 257 

23.  Composition  of  Nouns        ....                 .  258 

24.  Composition  of  Adjectives          .....  259 

25.  Composition  of  Verbs 260 

26.  Composition  of  Adverbs ib. 

27.  Composition  of  Prepositions ib. 

28.  Simulated  Compounds,  and  Compounds  in  disguise    .  ib. 

SYNTAX. 

THE  ANALYSIS  OF  SENTENCES. 

1,  2.  Parts  of  the  Sentence.     Division  of  Sentences         ,  264 

THE   SIMPLE   SENTENCE. 

3-5.   The  Simple  Sentence  and  its  enlargements       .        .  265 

6.  The  Subject  and  the  Object  :  their  various  forms        .  ib. 

7.  Enlargements  or  Adjuncts  of  Subject  or  Object .         .  266 


The  Predicate  :  simple  and  complex  forms 

10.  The  form  of  Negation  is  part  of  the  Predicate     . 

11.  Transitive  Predicate  completed  by  Object  . 

12.  Predicate  enlarged  by  Adverb  or  Adverb  Phrase 

13.  Various  forms  of  the  Adverbial  Phrase        .         , 

Absolute  Construction  of  the  Participle  . 
Impersonal  use  of  the  Participle      .         .         . 


XX  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

8.   Plurality  of  Adjuncts  at  one  time       .         .         .  268 

269 
270 
271 
ib. 
ib. 
272 
273 

THE    COMPLEX   SENTENCE. 

14.  Nature  of  the  Complex  Sentence         ....  274 

15.  Three  kinds  of  Subordinate  Clauses    ....  ib. 

16.  17.  The  Noun  Clause 275 

18,  19.  The  Adjective  Clause 276 

20.  The  Adverbial  Clause 278 

21.  Con  traction  of  the  Adverbial  Clause  .         .         .        .280 

THE   COMPOUND   SENTENCE. 

22.  Nature  of  the  Compound  Sentence      ....     280 

23.  Contracted  Sentences.     Irregular  Contractions    .         .      ib. 

EXAMPLES  OF  ANALYSTS. 

SIMPLE   SENTENCES. 

24.  Method  of  proceeding         .         .        .        .        .        .281 

25-37.  Examples  of  Simple  Sentences       ....     282 

COMPLEX    SENTENCES. 

38.   Subordinate  Clauses  analysed  separately    .  .  .  286 

39-48,   Examples  containing  Noun  Clauses        .  .  .  ib. 

49-54.  Examples  containing  Adjective  Clauses  .  .  290 

55-61.  Examples  containing  Adverbial  Clauses  .  .  293 

COMPOUND    SENTENCES. 

62.  The  parts  to  be  analysed  separately  •        ,     295 

CONTRACTED   SENTENCES. 

63,  64.  Examples ib. 

ELLIPTICAL   SENTENCES. 

65.  These  must  be  expressed  in  full                   .        .        .     296 
66-78.  Examples .        .     297 

CONCORD. 

1.  General  Principles.     Concord  implied  under  Etymo- 
logy        299 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS.  XXI 


CONCORD   OF   SUBJECT   AND   VERB. 

2.  General  Rules.     Causes  of  errors                           •         .  300 

3.  Concord  of  Collective  Nouns ib. 

Plural  form  with  Singular  meaning  takes  Singular  Verb  302 

4.  Singular  Nouns  coupled  by  '  and  '  take  a  Plural  Verb  ib. 
Exceptions  and  Peculiarities       .....  303 

5.  Singular  Nouns   connected  by  '  or '  or  *  nor '  take  a 

Singular  Verb   • 307 

6.  When   the  Subject  is  a  Relative  Pronoun,  we  must 

look  to  the  Antecedent 308 

7.  Concord  of  Pronouns  of  different  Persons   .         .  ib. 

8.  When  the  Predicate  is  completed  by  a  Noun,  the  sub- 

ject may  be  ambiguous  .  .       ib. 

CONCORD   OF  ADJECTIVE    AND   OF   PRONOUN   WITH    NOUN. 

9.  Concord  of  '  this  '  and  '  that ' 309 

10.  Concord  of     the     Distributive     Adjectives— 'each', 

'  every  ',  &c.          .......      ib. 

A  Common  Gender  pronoun  of  3rd  person  wanted      .     310 

CONCORD   OF   TENSES. 

11.  Contemporaneous  actions  are  stated  in  the  same  Tense     311 
Principal  and  Subordinate  Tenses  must  not  conflict   .       ib. 

Speciality  of  the  Present  Indefinite     •         .        •      ib. 

— *~"-"       Hh^>v--<-->ci 

GOVERNMENT. 

1.  Meaning  of  Government  .         T        .     312 

2.  Possessive  of  Noun  or  of  Pronoun  preceding  Noun  or 

Infinitive       .         .                  .         .         .         .  ib. 

3.  Government  of  Transitive  Verbs  and  of  Prepositions   .  313 

4.  The  forms  '  It  is  /',  'It  is  me  ' 314 

5.  Other  cases  of  Objective,  where  Nominative  is  expect- 

ed .  .     315 


ORDER  OF  WORDS., 

1.  Most  general  principle  of  Order         .         •        •         .     31 5 

SUBJECT   AND   VERB. 

2.  General  Rule.     Exceptions 316 

Complement  follows  incomplete  Predicate  Verb          .      ib. 


XXU  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PA3E 
VERB  AND  OBJECT. 

3.  Rule  and  Exceptions 317 

NOUN  AND  ADJECTIVE. 

4.  Rule.     Exceptions 317 

The  '  three  first ',  and  the  '  first  three '  .        .319 

5.  Placing  of  the  Article        .                          .        •        •  ib. 

PRONOUN  AND  ANTECEDENT. 

6.  Every  Pronoun  should  have  a  distinct  Antecedent      .  320 
Rules  of  Proximity  and  of  Importance        .         .         .  ib. 
Confused  reference 321 

PLACING  OF  THE  ADVERB. 

7.  General  Rules •        .  321 

8.  Placing  of 'only' 322 

9.  Not — but  only 323 

10.  Not  only— but  also 324 

11.  Placing  of  '  not '.      Imperfect  Negation      .         .         .  325 

12.  'At  least' ib. 

13.  Other  examples  of  misplaced  Adverbial  Adjuncts       .  ib. 

PLACING   OF   PREPOSITIONS. 

14.  General  Rule,  with  Exceptions 326 

PLACING   OF   CONJUNCTIONS. 

15.  Members  of   double-membered    conjunctions   to    be 

placed  in  corresponding  positions  ....  326 
16-18.  ELLIPSIS,  PLEONASM,  and  PARENTHESIS,  as  pro- 
cesses of  Syntax 327 

OF  PURITY. 

BARBARISM 328 

SOLECISM .  329 

IMPROPRIETY.     1.  In  single  words 330 

2.   In  phrases 33J^ 

List  of  SCOTTICISMS         ..'•••••$>. 

PUNCTUATION. 

The  COMMA 335 

The  SEMICOLON  and  the  COLON 338 

The  PERIOD  or  FULL  STOP.     Other  POINTS      .        .         ,  339 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS;    ;;•;:',  ,  xxm 

P-VGK 

PARSING.-'    ,  ;;   ;     :  :  -  /  }  ;  ,..' 

1.  Parsing  for  Parts  of  Speech  and  Inflexion  .        •        •     340 

2.  Parsing  for  Derivation       .         .         .         .         .         •     342 

3.  Parsing  for  Syntax 34:3 

EXAMPLES  of  ERRORS,  and  of  inferior  forms     .        •        .       ib. 

APPENDIX. 

1.  Celtic  words 349 

II.  Scandinavian  words 350 

III.  Other  Teutonic  words 35 i 

IV.  Monosyllables  of  Classical  origin       .         •         •        •354 


ENGLISH  GRAMMAR. 


THE  ALPHABET. 

1.  The    Alphabet    is   the   collection   of   written 
characters  or  symbols  representing  the  simple  articu- 
late sounds. 

The  English  Alphabet  contains  twenty-six  characters,  or 
letters,  but  the  sounds  to  be  expressed  are  st:ll  more  numerous. 
Moreover,  as  several  sounds  have  duplicate  letters,  the  available 
characters  are  really  fewer  than  twenty -six. 

2.  Articulate  sounds  are  classed  in  two  divisions  as 
vowels  and  consonants. 

A  vowel  sound  (Fr.  voyelle,  Lat.  vocalis,  '  sounding ')  is  voice 
issuing  from  the  mouth  clear  and  free ;  a  sound  that  can  be 
uttered  alone1,  as  ah,  ee,  oo.  If  any  part  of  the  mouth  get  in 
the  way  and  check  the  utterance,  the  new  sound  is  called  a 
consonant  sound.  The  name  'consonant'  (Lat.  con,  'together', 
sonant-,  'sounding')  was  given  as  indicating  that  the  peculiar 
sound  cannot  be  produced  alone,  but  only  together  with  some 
vowel. 

Vowels  and  consonants,  '  though  their  distinction  is  of  tl  e 
highest  importance  in  phonetics,  are  by  no  means  separate  and 
independent  systems,  but  only  poles,  as  it  were,  in  one  unitary 
series,  and  with  a  doubtful  or  neutral  territory  between  them  ; 
they  are  simply  the  opener  and  the  closer  sounds  of  the  alpha- 
betic system '.  (Whitney). 

3.  The  Vowels. — The  characters  available  for  the 
vowel  sounds  QXQ  five, — a,  Cj  i,  O,  U. 

1 


THE  ALPHABET. 

vn  £o  *L.fiek  in  the  history  of  our  alphabet  as 
far  as  we  can,  we  find  three  early  vowels,  from 
which  the  others  have  come  by  various  modifications. 

These  are  :  a  (which,  has  been  doubled,  or  lengthened,  in 
'far',  'father',  &c.  ;  and  which  is  still  kept  in  Scotch  and 
German  'man'),  i  (as  in  it,  bit,  fit,  &c.),  and  u  (as  in  'bull ', 
' full',  &c.). 

a  ( '  father ',  Scot,  and  Germ.  '  man  ')  is  the  sound  heard  when 
voice  issues  unimpeded  from  open  mouth  and  throat,  the  back 
of  the  tongue  being  drawn  well  down  ;  i  (feet,  fit)  is  produced 
when  the  tongue  is  raised  almost  to  the  middle  of  the  palate  ; 
u  (tool,  fwll)  is  then  formed  by  again  withdrawing  the  tongue  a 
•little  and  rounding  the  lips. 

The  union  of  a  and  i  produces  the  diphthong  heard  in  '  fine ', 
'  mine ', — what  we  call  "  long  i  ".  Between  a  and  i  is  e  (a,  e), 
heard  in  '  they ',  '  pain ',  '  fate ',  '  then  ',  '  pen  ' ;  the  long  sound 
being  really  a  diphthong.  Between  a  and  this  e  is  a  in  'bat', 
'cat',  'fat',  'man',  &c.  Similarly,  between  a  and  u  stands  o 
(note,  obey)  ;  the  sound  being  really  a  diphthong.  And  between 
a  and  this  o  stands  the  long  sound— call  it  6  -heard  in  'all', 
'Austria,',  'awstere';  the  corresponding  short  sound  is  heard 
•in  'what',  'not'. 

il  (bwt,  cwt,  &c.)  is  probably  a  guttural  vowel,  though  rather 
indefinite:  "the  specific  quality"  of  it,  says  Prof.  Whitney, 
"  is  due  to  a  dimming  action  along  the  whole  mouth  rather  than 
an  approach  at  a  definite  point  or  points,"  and  it  is  "  thus  a 
duller  kind  of  a".  When  followed  by  r  (Imrt,  burn),  u  seems 
to  modify  its  sound  ;  an  apparent  change  probably  due  to  the 
peculiar  pronunciation  of  the  r. 

Taking  the  vowels  as  we  find  them  in  use,  a  prac- 
tical phonetic  representation  might  be  arranged 
as  follows. 

Accented  Vowels.  —A  vowel  sound,  uttered  clearly  and  with 
stress  of  voice,  is  said  to  be  accented. 

The  accent  may  fall  either  on  the  vowel  alone,  or  on  the 
vowel  together  with  a  consonant  next  following  it. 

d,  e,  (,  6,  IJ,  may  represent  the  long  vowel  sounds 
heard  in  '  lay,  lee,  lie,  lo  !  loo  \ 

These  exemplify  such  as  receive  the  accent  exclusively  on  the 
vowel. 


VOWEL   SCHEME.  3 

a,  &,  ),  6,  Cl,  may  represent  the  short  vowel  sounds 
in  '  sat,  set,  sit,  not,  nut '. 

These  exemplify  such  as  receive  the  accent  on  the  consonant 
following  as  well  as  on  the  vowel. 

Independently  of  the  different  kind  of  accent,  these  ten 
vowels  are  each  distinct  from  the  others ;  they  make  up  ten 
separate  vowels. 

e,  I,  0,  may  represent  the  vowel  sounds  heard  in 
'  be<?n,  pn'dc,  pwll '. 

In  some  words  the  accented  long  vowel  sounds  are  pronounced 
with  force,  quickly,  and  so  as  to  include  in  the  accent  a  conso- 
nant that  comes  after  the  vowel.  This  happens  in  the  case  of 
the  fifth  long  vowel  '  u  ',  in  several  words,  as  in  '  pwll,  full ', 
compared  with  'pool,  fool';  which  may  be  symbolised  thus: 
'  pftl,  ful ' ;  '  plil,  fill  '•  The  second  long  vowel  '  e  '  undergoes 
a  like  change  of  accent  in  the  word  '  been  ',  which  is  pronounced 
'  b£n '  ;  probably  too  in  several  other  words ;  but  this  particular 
form  of  accent  has  not  been  much  studied  heretofore.  The 
third  long  vowel  'i'  becomes  'i',  that  is  to  say,  carries  its 
accent  to  the  next  consonant,  as  in  the  word  '  pra'de  ',  compared 
with  the  words  '  pry ',  '  pried ' ;  which  three  words  may  be  sym- 
bolised thus  :  '  piid,  pri,  prid '.  The  like  happens  with  this 
vowel  in  a  good  many  words  ;  but  as  yet  no  care  has  been  taken 
to  discriminate  syllables  thus  accented. 

6  and  a  may  represent  the  vowel  sounds  heard  in 
'  saz0  (so),  sought  (sot) ;  palm  (pam),  far '. 

Accented  short  vowel  sounds  have  the  vowel  sound  prolonged, 
in  certain  words,  without  any  of  the  accent  falling  on  a  follow- 
ing consonant.  This  happens  particularly  in  the  case  of  '  6  ', 
the  fourth  of  those  vowels,  as  may  be  seen  on  comparing  the 
words  'sot,  saw,  sought,'  (which  may  be  symbolised  'sot,  so, 
sot'),  'a'  is  not  prolonged:  but  the  older  and  broader  'a' 
remaining  in  Sc.  and  Germ.  '  man_',  Sc.  '  c«n  ',  Germ.  '  kann ', 
&c.,  is  prolonged  in  'father,  far,  art',  &c. 

The  other  three  accented  short  vowel  sounds  (e,  i,  u)  are  not 
thus  prolonged,  excepting  '  e  ',  which  occasionally  becomes  '  e  ', 
as  in  the  expression  '  veri  wel — veri !  ' 

Vowels  unaccented. — a,  e,  I,  6,  d,  may  respectively 
stand  for  the  vowels  a,  e,  i,  6,  u,  when  out  of  accent, 

Compare  'da,  birthda ;  e'z,  eiekt;   f/n,  «dea;    eJpium,  £ba 
krwel,  kr^ ' 


THE   ALPHABET. 


a,  6,  i,  O,  U,  may  respectively  stand  for  the  vowels 
a,  e,  i,  b,  u,  when  out  of  accent. 

Compare  'pdlas,  palashial;  pet,  limpet;  p*t,  kokpit  ;  politik, 
n  ;  zip,  wphev  '. 


Unaccented  e,  i,  ti  can  hardly  be  said  to  differ  from 
unaccented  e,  *,  u,  and  may  be  represented  in  the  same 
way  by  e,  I,  u. 

'  Hav  ytt  ever  ben  dhar  ?  '  «  Mft  he  not  tri  az  wel  az  yfi  ?  ' 
'Fulfil,  handful'. 

6  and  a  may  represent  o  and  a  when  out  of  accent. 

Compare  '  otum,  otumnal  ;  ogust,  ogust  :  art,  artistik  ; 
arteri,  arterial'. 

Di2)lithongs.  —  The  chief  diphthongs  are  ou  and  oi. 

OW  or  oil  in  the  words  '  now  '  and  *  n<mn  ',  and  oy  or  oi  in 
the  words  'boy',  boil',  are  compounds  of  other  vowels  ;  in  the 
words  '  how  '  and  '  noun  ',  of  '  a  '  and  '  G  '  ;  in  '  boy  '  and  '  boil  ', 
of  '6'  and  'e'. 

eu,  6W,  U  (=  y6)  may  also  be  regarded  as  a  diphthong,  e-\-u: 
1  j?wrope  ',  '  feiv  ',  '  fwel  '. 

d,  i,  »,  which  are  fundamentally  diphthongs,  are  regarded  as 
substantially  simple  long  vowels. 

When  out  of  accent,  the  diphthongs  may  be  represented  thus  : 
ou  or  o-fr,  oi  or  oy,  yu. 

W  and  Y.  w  and  y  are  sometimes  called  consonants, 
sometimes  semi-vowels. 

In  any  case  '  w  '  is  «  a  ',  and  '  y  '  is  '  8  ',  each  quickly  pro- 
nounced before  another  vowel  ;  as  in  the  words  '  we  '  and  'way  ' 
(u-e,  u-a  =  we",  wa),  and  in  the  words  '  ye  ',  '  2/ea  '  (&-&*  8-6, 
=  ye,  ya). 

Wh  represents  w  modified  by  the  aspirate  h.  The  pronuncia- 
tion remains  in  accordance  with  the  old  form  hw. 

u  and  u  often  have  the  sound  of  y  inserted  before  them  ;  as 
in  'tywn  (tune),  fyu  (few),  h^wman  (human),  h^man  (humane)'. 
"We  have  just  seen  that  this  compound  sound  may  be  classed 
with  the  diphthongs. 


CONSONANTS.  5 

Although,  as  already  correctly  stated,  '  a '  is  a  different  vowel 
from  'a',  as  is  'e'  from  'e',  'i'  from  '!',  &c.,  yet  it  it  is  an 
important  observation  that  the  individuals  of  each  of  these 
couples  of  vowels  are  exchangeable  with  each  other  in  kindred 
English  words,  sometimes  accented,  sometimes  unaccented, 
as  may  be  seen  from  a  few  examples  :  nashon,  nashonal, 
nashonaliti ;  deriv,  derivashon,  derivativ ;  real,  re'aliz,  realiti ; 
idea,  idealiz,  idCaliti ;  ral,  wa,  ralwa;  repyut,  repytttabl; 
parent,  parental ;  papa,  papal ;  mason,  masonic ;  continyu, 
continyuiti ;  theatr,  theatrical  ;  Canada,  Canadian  ;  Pariz, 
Parizian  ;  revel,  revelashon  ;  repli,  replicashon ;  repe"t,  repeti- 
shon  ;  accent,  accent ;  German,  Germanic  ;  Britan,  Brita~nia, 
Britanic,  British  ;  land,  Scot,  Scotland  ;  labor,  laborius  ;  b'ster, 
osterity  (austere,  austerity) ;  ospis,  ospishus  (auspice,  auspi- 
cious) ;  politik,  political.* 

4.  The  Consonants,  and  their  sounds,  are  di- 
vided according  to  the  part  of  the  mouth  uttering  them 
and  according  to  the  concurrence  of  breath  or  voice 
from  the  throat. 

The  Labials  or  Lip-consonants  (Lat.  labia,  lips) 
are  p,  b ;  f,  v ;  m. 

The  consonants,  p  and  b,  are  called  mute,  explosive,  or  mo- 
mentary labials  ;  the  lips  completely  check  the  emission  of 
of  breath  or  voice  (mute),  and  just  when  they  are  re-opened 
these  consonantal  sounds  burst  forth  (explosive),  hut  are  heard 
only  for  an  instant  (momentary),  /and  v  are  called  fricative  or 
continuous  labials ;  the  passage  is  not  quite  closed  and  the 
breath  pushes  or  rubs  its  way  through  (fricative),  while  the 
sound  can  in  each  case  be  kept  up  for  a  little  (continuous),  f  is 
very  nearly  p  with  an  added  breathing  (p  +  h,  pli),  and  v  is 
nearly  an  aspirated  b  (b  -f  h,  bh).  In  strictness,  /  and  v  are 
dentila.ltiB.ls  ('tooth-and-lip '  consonants),  not  pure  labials;  for 
the  upper  teeth  come  down  upon  the  lower  lip,  and  breath  or 
voice  is  expelled  between  these. 

Again,  the  members  of  each  of  these  pairs  also  differ  from 
each  other  in  this  way.  When  the  lips  close  or  open  for  p,  they 
check  or  liberate  breath;  when  they  close  or  open  for  b,  they 

*  This  scheme  of  vowel  symbolisation,  which  has  the  pecvMar  advantage 
of  indicating  at  Once  the  accents  and  the  vowels  «/  words,  was  com- 
municated to  me  by  Dr.  Clark,  who  considered  it  likely  to  be  useful,  not 
only  in  grammatical  discussions,  but  in  English  pronouncing  dictionaries 
and  in  the  vowel  part  of  any  system  of  phonetic  spelling  that  may  be 
hereafter  attempted  for  the  English  language.  I  have  made  one  or  two 
very  slight  deviations  from  the  original  form,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity 
and  simplicity. 


6 


THE   ALPHABET. 


check  or  liberate  voice.  Hence  p  has  been  variously  called  a 
surd,  breathed,  hard,  sharp,  or  strong  sound ;  and  b  has  been 
called  a  sonant,  voiced,  soft,  fiat,  or  weak  sound.  The  two  first 
names  in  each  case  are  the  'most  appropriate,  seeing  that  they 
describe  the  essential  point  of  difference. 

In  sounding  m,  the  lips  are  aided  by  the  nose.  Hence  m  is 
called  also  a  nasal  consonont  (Lat.  riasus,  the  nose).  It  is 
continuous. 

The  Dentals  or  Tooth  -  consonants  (Lat.  dent-, 
'  tooth ')  are  t,  d;  th?  dh  ;  I,  n,  r. 

t  (surd)  and  d  (sonant)  are  momentary  ;  all  the  rest  are  con- 
tinuous, th  (as  in  'smith',  'thin')  is  surd, — aspirated  t;  dh 
(as  in  '  booth  ',  '  thine  ')  is  sonant, — aspirated  d  :  they  are  formed 
by  expelling  breath  and  voice  between  the  tongue  and  the  upper 
teeth,  n  is  also  nasal.  I  is  sounded  by  directing  the  point  of 
the  tongue  to  the  boundary  of  teeth  and  palate,  and  passing 
voice  by  the  sides  of  it ;  r,  by  passing  voice  over  middle  and 
point  of  the  tongue.  (For  Scotch  and  French  r,  the  tongue 
vibrates  strongly  against  the  palate). 

The  Palatals,  or  Palate-consonants,  are  s,  z; 
sh,  zh. 

The  palatals  are  all  continuous.  5  and  sh  (=  aspirated  s)  are 
surd ;  z  and  zh  (=.  aspirated  z,  the  middle  consonant  heard  in 
'  vision  ',  that  is  '  vizhon ')  are  sonant. 

From  their  hissing  sound,  these  have  also  been  called  '  sibi- 
lants '. 

The  Gutturals  or  Throat-sounds  (Lat.  guttur,  the 
throat)  are  k,  g ;  (kh,  gh),  h  ;  ng. 

k  (surd)  and  g  (sonant)  are  momentary  ;  the  others  are  con- 
tinuous. The  aspirated  kh,  gh  do  not  occur  now  in  English  ; 
h,  a  softened  sound,  or  mere  guttural  breathing,  alone  remains. 
ng  is  nasal. 

m,  n,  I,  r,  and  ng  have  also  been  called  '  liquids ',  from  their 
flowing  continuous  sound.  But  this  is  obviously  an  arbitrary 
limitation  of  the  name,  and  does  not  carry  with  it  any  advantage. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  list,  that  our  alphabet  is  deficient  in 
characters  for  expressing  the  consonant  sounds  th  (thin),  dh  (thine), 
sh  (shame),  zh  (azure),  ng  (ring).  It  is  further  redundant  as  regards  the 
letters  c  (represented  by  s  or  k),  q  (the  same  as  k  before  u),  and  x  (either 
kg  or  gz).  Also  j,  as  representing  a  compound  sound,  would  be  super- 
fluous, if  we  had  the  elementary  character  zh  i  azure).  At  present  it  is  a 
convenient  contraction  for  dzh  (the  sonant  corresponding  to  the  surd 
compound  tsh  or  ch). 


ETYMOLOGY. 


ETYMOLOGY  is  the  study  of  individual  v/ords. 

It  is  in  contrast  to  SYNTAX,  which  is  the  joining  of 
words  in  sentences. 

Individual  words  may  be  viewed  in  three  different 
ways  : 

First,  we  may  divide  them  into  classes,  or  kinds, 
and  explain  the  purposes  served  by  each  kind.  This 
is  to  give  the  classification  of  words,  or  the  PARTS  OF 
SPEECH. 

Secondly,  we  may  consider  the  changes  that  they 
undergo  when  they  enter  into  composition,  as  in  the 
plurals  of  nouns,  the  comparison  of  adjectives,  &c. 
This  is  INFLECTION. 

Thirdly,  we  may  examine  the  growth  and  structure 
of  words.  This  is  called  DERIVATION. 

Before  entering  upon  the  first  division, — the  Parts 
of  Speech,  it  is  requisite  to  examine  the  nature  of  the 
Sentence. 


s 


THE  SENTENCE. 

1.  Speech  is  made  up  of  separate  sayings,  each  com- 
plete in  itself,  and  containing  several  words ;  and  these 
sayings  are  Sentences. 

Any  complete  meaning  is  a  sentence. 

A  single  word  does  not  give  a  meaning :  the  words,  '  John  ', 
'  street ',  '  star ',  '  see ',  '  escape  ',  used  separately,  do  not  tell  us 
anything.  We  need  at  least  two  words  to  convey  any  informa- 
tion :  'John  stands',  is  a  full  meaning.  The  cases  where  even 
two  words  are  sufficient  are  not  very  numerous ;  most  meanings 
are  expressed  by  more  than  two  words  :  '  he  is  in  the  street ', 
'  I  see  the  star  ',  '  the  guilty  cannot  always  escape  '. 

Any  two  words,  or  more,  will  not  give  a  meaning — that  is, 
will  not  make  a  sentence  :  '  heavy  gold  ',  '  thunder  lightning  ', 
'  all  good  men  themselves ',  are  not  sentences.  There  is  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  word  needed  to  complete  the  declaration  or 
meaning  :  '  gold  is  heavy ',  '  thunder  follows  lightning ',  '  all 
good  men  deny  themselves '. 

2.  The  usual  and  regular  form  of  the  Sentence 
is  to  declare  that  something  is  or  is  not — to  give  an 
affirmation  or  a  denial. 

For  affirming,  we  have  the  form  seen  in  the  examples  :  '  the 
sun  is  risen  ',  '  gold  is  heavy  ',  '  men  will  die '. 

For  denying,  we  have  such  forms  as  '  the  sun  is  not  risen ', 
*  feathers  are  not  heavy  ',  '  men  will  not  live  always  ',  '  the 
report  is  not  true  ',  '  a  brave  soldier  will  not  desert  his  post '. 
Such  forms  differ  from  the  foregoing  only  in  the  addition  of  the 
negative  word  '  not '.  The  distinction  between  the  kinds  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  in  regard  to  our  belief  and  conduct,  but 
is  seldom  considered  in  Grammar. 

Of  sentences  that  do  not  assume  one  or  other  of  these  forms, 
there  are  two  classes — imperative  and  interrogative. 

The  Imperative  sentence,  instead  of  declaring  something, 
commands,  directs,  or  entreats  :  '  clear  the  way ',  '  turn  to  the 
right ',  '  spare  his  life '. 

The  Interrogative  sentence  asks  a  question  :  '  who  will  go  with 
me  ? '  '  Can  any  one  disclose  the  mystery  ? ' 


ITS    FORMS   AND   PARTS.  9 

Both  the  imperative  and  the  interrogative  sentence  may  be 
regarded.  AS  slwrtcncd  forms  of  the  usual,  or  declaratory  sentence  : 
'  clear  the  way  ',  is  the  same  as  '  I  command  yon  to  clear  the 
way  '.  For  '  spare  his  life  ',  we  should  say,  in  full,  '  I  (or  we) 
entreat  yon  to  spare  his  life  '.  The  interrogative  form  is  a  short 
way  of  saying  '  I  ask  ',  or  '  I  wish  to  know  something  '. 

3.  Subject  and  Predicate.  —  Every  Sentence 
may  be  divided  into  two  parts. 

One  part  is  the  name  of  the  thing  spoken 
about,  and  is  called  the  Subject. 

The  other  part  is  what  is  said  about  the  Sub- 
ject, and  is  called  the  Predicate. 

*  Lions  roar  ',  is  a  complete  sentence.  The  thing  spoken  about, 
the  Subject,  is  '  lions  '  ;  what  is  said  about  lions,  the  Predicate, 
is  that  they  'roar'.  (The  declaration  is  affirmative,)  Here 
subject  and  predicate  are  each  expressed  by  a  single  word. 

'  Unsupported  bodies  fall  to  the  ground  '. 

Subject.  Predicate. 

Unsupported  bodies  —  fall  to  the  ground. 

Any  person  that  understands  the  meaning  of  this  sentence 
knows  that  what  is  spoken  about  is  expressed  in  the  two  words, 
'  unsupported  bodies  '  ;  and  that  what  is  said  or  declared  about 
unsupported  bodies  is  expressed  in  the  four  words,  '  fall  to  the 
ground  '. 

Thus,  although  a  'great  many  words  may  be  used  in  conveying 
a  single  meaning,  we  can  always  separate  those  that  give  the 
subject  from  those  that  give  the  predicate. 

Subject,  Predicate. 

A  small  leak  —  will  sink  a  great  ship. 

The  pain  of  death,  —  is  most  in  apprehension. 

—  *«  "»*  humble. 


Inverted  order.  —  Although  the  general  rule  in  sentences  of 
affirmation  and  denial  is  to  place  the  subject  first,  the  order  is 
sometimes  inverted  :  '  short  was  his  triumph  ',  '  how  long  he  will 
remain,  no  one  can  say  '  ;  '  it  is  a  law  of  nature,  that  disuse 
diminishes  the  capabilities  of  things  '.  On  restoring  the  regular 
order,  these  may  be  written  thus  :  — 

Subject.  Predicate. 

His  triumph  —  was  short. 

U  0  one  \  —  can  say  how  long  he  will 

(          remain. 
It,  (namely),  that  disuse  diminishes  )      .       ,         - 

the  capabilities  of  things,          \  ~M  a  law  of  nature- 


10  THE   SENTENCE. 

Compound  and  Contracted  Sentences.— When  a  sentence  can- 
not be  reduced  to  a  single  subject  and  a  single  predicate,  it  is 
because  two  or  more  sentences  are  put  together,  which  occurs  not 
unfrequently  :  '  The  sun  gives  light  by  day,  and  the  moon  by- 
night  ',  contains  two  subjects—'  the  sun  ',  '  the  moon ',  and  two 
predicates  agreeing  in  the  main  action,  'give  light',  but  differ- 
ing in  the  manner  of  the  action,  '  by  day  ',  '  by  night '.  This 
is  a  compound  sentence,  partially  contracted. 

The  following  are  additional  examples: — 'John  and  David 
are  here  ;  John  is  at  the  door,  and  David  at  the  window  '. 
'  The  river  rose,  burst  the  embankment,  and  flooded  the  field ' 
(one  subject  and  three  predicates).  '  Gold  is  a  metal,  yellow, 
heavy,  incorrodible,  of  great  value,  and  used  for  coin  and  for 
ornament. ' 


4.  The  Naked  Sentence.  Parts  of  Speech  : 
Noun  and  Verb.  A  Sentence  containing  only  two 
words  may  be  called  a  naked  sentence.  It  contains 
the  kinds  of  words  absolutely  essential  to  a  meaning, 
and  no  others. 

These  words  are,  in  Grammar,  different  Parts  of 
Speech. 

'  Peter  comes  ',  '  fishes  swim l,  '  time  flies ',  '  prudence  for- 
bids ',  are  the  shortest  possible  sentences  ;  they  are  meanings 
given  in  the  most  naked  form.  One  of  the  words  in  each  ex- 
presses by  itself  the  subject — '  Peter ',  '  fishes  ',  '  time  ',  '  pru- 
dence '  ;  the  second  word  in  each  is  a  complete  predicate — • 
'  comes  ',  '  swim  ',  '  flies  ',  '  forbids  '. 

The  words  for  the  subjects  are,  in  Grammar,  mainly  of  one 
kind  or  class,  or  one  part  of  speech — the  Noun  :  '  Peter ', 
'  fishes  ',  '  time  ',  '  prudence  ',  are  nouns. 

The  words  of  the  predicates  are,  in  Grammar,  always  of  one 
class,  or  one  part  of  speech — the  Verb  :  *  comes  ',  '  swim  ', 
'-flies ',  forbids ',  are  verbs. 

The  predicate  word,  or  verb,  has  various  peculiarities.  Among 
others  we  may  notice  here,  as  never  absent,  the  signification  of 
time ;  the  fact  or  thing  declared  is  always  given  as  happening 
in  a  certain  division  of  time — present,  past,  future,  or,  in  many 
cases,  during  all  time  :  '  Peter  comes '  (present  time),  '  James 
withdrew  '  (past  time),  '  fishes  swim '  (all  time). 


NAKED   AND    CLOTHED.  11 

•  From  a  naked  or  skeleton  sentence  we  may  consider  all  other 
sentences  to  be  derived,  being,  as  it  were,  clothed  or  filled  out, 
or  expanded  by  additions  ;  and  most  of  the  words  used  for  this 
end  belong  to  other  grammatical  classes,  or  different  parts  of 
speech. 

5.  Clothing  or  Filling  out.     Object. — When 
the  Predicate  is  clothed    or  enlarged  by  naming 
an  object  acted  on,  the  word  used  is  still  most  fre- 
quently a  Noun  : — 'the  Greeks  worshipped  Apollo': 
1  fools  waste  opportunities  '. 

'Apollo '  and  '  opportunities  '  are  nonns.  They  might  serve  as 
the  subjects  of  sentences :  'Apollo  was  the  oracular  god  ',  '  oppor- 
tunities occur '. 

Transitive  and  Intransitive  Verbs. — This  expansion,  therefore, 
does  not  bring  out  any  new  part  of  speech  ;  the  object,  like  the 
subject,  is  a  noun,  or  some  form  equivalent  to  a  noun.  But 
we  thereby  determine  a  distinction  among  verbs  :  those  that 
are  thus  followed  by  an  object  are  called  transitive  verbs,  because 
the  action  is  supposed  to  pass  over  to  some  particular  thing. 
Those  that  give  a  complete  meaning -without  an  object  ('the  sun 
shines  ',  '  time  flies ')  are  intransitive. 

Chief  uses  of  the  Noun. — The  noun  is  not  confined  to  the 
subject  or  the  object  of  the  sentence ;  it  may  occur  in  some 
other  situations  ;  but  the  chief  way  to  test  a  noun  is  to  see 
whether  it  makes  sense  when  used  as  a  subject  or  an  object. 
Vo/rn  comes ',  '  send  John  ',  make  sense  ;  '  will  comes  ',  '  send 
burned ',  are  nonsense  ;  '  will '  and  '  burned  '  are  not  nouns. 

6.  Enlargement    of   Subject    and    Object. 
The  Adjective. — The  Subject  is  enlarged  by  words 
that  modify  its  meaning  :  as  'few  men  live  to  be 

old  ' ;  '  all  high  mountains  are  imposing  '.     The  word 

*  few  '  joined  to  the  noun  '  men  ',  to  modify  its  mean- 
ing, and  the  words  '  all ',  '  high ',  joined  to  *  mountains ', 
are  words  of  a  distinct  grammatical  class,  or  Part  of 
Speech,  and  are  called  Adjectives. 

The  Object  of  a  Sentence,  when  a  Noun,  may  be 
enlarged  or  modified  in  the  same  way :  *  I  see  Myht 
fires ' ;  'he  commanded  many  large  armies ' ;  *  they 


12  THE   SENTENCE. 

climbed  the  loftiest  peak '.  '  Bright ',  '  many ',  '  large ', 
'  the  ',  '  loftiest ',  are  Adjectives. 

In  both  places  the  adjective  has  the  same  use — to  limit  the 
number  of  things  expressed  by  a  noun,  and  increase  the  mean- 
ing ;  '  few '  limits  the  class  '  men '  to  a  smaller  number  ;  '  high ' 
limits  the  class  mountain,  and  increases  or  adds  to  the  meaning 
or  attributes  of  the  class  ;  the  things  spoken  of  have  everything 
belonging  to  the  class  mountain,  and  something  besides,  namely, 
what  is  expressed  by  the  word  '  high  '. 

7.  Enlargement  of  Predicate.  The  Adverb. 

—  The  Predicate  may  be  enlarged  or  extended  by 
words  expressing  some  attributes  or  circum- 
stances of  action  : — 'they  marched  steadily';  'bring 
John  here ';  '  the  fruit  will  soon  be  ripe '. 

The  words  '  steadily ',  '  here ',  '  soon ',  are  of  the  class, 
or  Part  of  Speech,  called  the  Adverb. 

The  adverb  modifies,  limits,  or  varies  the  action  of  the  pre- 
dicate, or  adds  something  to  its  signification ;  the  action 
'  marched '  is  qualified  by  the  meaning  '  steadily ',  which  is 
something  more  than  mere  marching.  '  The  fruit  will  be  ripe ' 
is  changed  in  meaning  by  the  word  '  soon ',  which  limits  the 
time  of  the  ripening.  The  word  '  here '  gives  the  place  where 
John  is  to  be  brought  to  ;  it  is  an  adverb  of  place. 

These  words  are  called  adverbs,  because  they  are  attached  to 
verbs,  or  to  the  essential  word  in  the  predicate  of  the  sentence. 

8.  Many-worded   Adverbs. — The  Adverb,  in- 
stead of  being  one  word,  may  be  made  up  of  two  or 
more  words  :  '  they  marched  in  order ';  '  send  John  to 
town ';  *  the  apples  will  be  ripe  in  a  week '.     The  ex- 
pressions, '  in  order ', '  to  town ', '  in  a  week ',  are  called 
Adverbial  Phrases. 

These  phrases  serve  the  very  same  purpose  as  the  single- 
worded  adverbs  :  '  in  order '  states  the  manner  o(  marching  • 
1  to  town  '  gives  the  place  where  John  is  to  go  to,  being  an  ad- 
verbial phrase  of  place ;  '  in  a  week  '  is  an  adverbial  phrase  of 
time. 

9.  The    Preposition.  —  The   Adverbial    Phrase 
usually  consists  of  a  Noun,  and  another  kind  of  word 
connecting  the  Noun  with  the  Predicate  Verb.     In  the 


THE    PARTS    OF    SPEECH.  13 

phrase  '  to  town  ',  '  town  '  is  a  Noun ;  '  to  '  is  a  word  of 
a  distinct  class,  or  Part  of  Speech,  named  the  Pre- 
position. 

The  prepositions  are  few  in  number ;  they  are  mostly  short 
words,  as  'to',  'from',  'by',  'in7,  'on',  'over',  'under',  'with', 
'against'.  Their  original  meaning  is  direction  or  situation. 
Applied  to  a  verb  of  motion,  or  action,  they  indicate  the  direc- 
tion of  the  movement,  which,  however,  is  in  most  cases  vague 
or  incomplete,  unless  some  object  is  named  ;  '  come  to '  is  not 
intelligible  without  a  place  or  object  named  ;  '  come  to  school ', 
4  we  ran  to  the  wood  '. 

10.  The  Conjunction.— When  two  distinct  sen- 
tences are  united  by  a  connecting  word,  this  is  of  the 
class,  or  Part  of  Speech,  called  the  Conjunction  : 
*  the  sun  rose,  and  the  clouds  dispersed  ' ;  '  individuals 
die,  but  the  race  is  perpetual ' ;  '  I  will  come  if  I  can  '. 

'And',  'but',  and  'if,  are  unlike  any  of  the  other  parts  of 
speech ;  they  are  conjunctions.  They  are  nearly  allied  to,  but 
yet  distinct  from,  prepositions. 

Sentences  often  follow  one  another  without  any  connecting 
words  at  all, 

1 1.  The  Pronoun. — The  Subject  or  the  Object  of 
a  Sentence  may  be  given  by  a  word  of  reference :  '  John 
said  lie  would  go ' ;  '  launch  the  boat,  and  take  it  across 
the  river'.     Such  words  are  of  the  class,  or  Part  of 
Speech,  named  the  Pronoun. 

'John '  is  a  noun  ;  it  names  a  person  by  his  own  name  :  'he' 
is  a  pronoun,  having  no  meaning  of  itself,  but  referring  back  to 
the  person  'John  '  previously  named.  The  word  would  equally 
apply  to  any  person  mentioned  in  the  sentence  or  clause  that 
goes  before. 

In  like  manner  a  'boat*  names  a  thing  by  its  own  name  : 
when  we  hear  the  word  we  know  what  is  meant.  '  It'  has  no 
meaning  of  itself;  we  must  look  back  to  see  what  thing  was 
last  mentioned,  namely,  a  'boat '.  If  the  thing  last  mentioned 
had  been  '  tree  ',  the  word  '  it '  would  have  meant  a  tree. 

The  pronouns  are  a  small  class  of  words,  of  very  wide  appli- 
cation. They  are  called  pronouns,  or  /or-nouns,  because  they 
serve  instead  of  nouns.  After  a  person  or  thing  is  once  men- 
tioned, a  second  mention  may  be  avoided  by  using  one  of  the 
pronouns,  which  are  usually  much  shorter  words  than  nouns. 


u 


PARTS     OF    SPEECH. 


THE     NOUN. 

Definition. 

I.  The  Noun  is  defined  by  the  following  marks  : — 

1.  It  may  be  the  Subject  or  the  Object  of 
a  Sentence  ."  'the  gardener  pruned  the  tree  '. 

Here  '  gardener ',  the  subject  of  the  sentence,  and  '  tree  ',  the 
object,  are  nouns. 

There  are  other  words  besides  nouns  that  majr  be  the  subject 
or  the  object  of  a  sentence.  These  are  pronouns,  and  .the  in- 
finitives of  the  verb.  '  He  wished  to  go',  '  they  like  reading', 
'  talking  fatigues  its ',  are  sentences  whose  subjects  and  objects 
are  not  nouns,  but  pronouns  or  infinitives  :  '  he  ',  'they',  'us  ', 
pronouns  ;  '  to  go  ',  '  reading ',  '  talking  ',  infinitives. 

Hence  some  additional  characters  are  necessary  to  distinguish 
the  noun  from  the  e  other  parts  of  speech.  The  following  mark 
distinguishes  it  from  the  pronoun. 

2.  II.  The  Noun  is  the  name  of  the  thing 
itself,    while    the   Pronoun    names    by    means   of    a 
reference. 

Thus,  '  John  ',  '  kingdom  ',  *  virtue  ',  are  the  names 
of  things  themselves ;  '  I ',  '  he ',  '  it ',  '  they  ',  '  who  ', 
are  names  that  have  no  meaning,  except  by  referring 
to  something  otherwise  pointed  out  or  understood. 

'Augustus  found  Rome  built  of  brick,  and  he  left  it  built  of 
marble.'  The  subject  and  the  object  of  the  first  sentence,  'Au- 
gustus ',  '  Rome ',  are  nouns ;  they  name  the  actual  objects. 
The  subject  and  the  object  of  the  second  sentence,  '  he  ',  '  it ', 
are  pronouns  ;  they  name  by  referring  back,  one  to  Augustus, 
the  other  to  Rome. 

To  distinguish  the  noun  from  any  part  of  the  verb,  we  resort 
to  the  test  of  inflexion. 


PROPER,  SINGULAR,  MEANINGLESS   NOUNS.  15 

3.  III.  The  Noun  is  changed   or   inflected 

for  Number,  Case,  and  Gender.  The  Infinitives  of 
the  Verb  are  not  inflected  at  all.  We  change  '  man  ' 
into  *  men  ',  '  men's  '  (Number,  Case)  ;  '  lion  '  into 
'  lioness '  (Gender). 

Neither  the  active  infinitive  forms,  '  to  love  ',  '  loving ',  nor 
the  passive  infinitives,  '  to  be  loved  ',  '  being  loved  ',  are  now 
changed  in  any  way.  Other  parts  of  the  verb  are  extensively 
changed  ;  the  chief  purpose  being  to  signify  time.  There  is  a 
change  for  number ;  there  is  none  for  case  or  for  gender. 

All  nouns  are  not  changed  for  number,  case,  and  gender  ; 
sometimes  the  meaning,  and  sometimes  the  usage,  would  forbid 
the  change.  A  large  proportion  have  the  plural  number  ;  only 
a  few  are  inflected  for  case  ;  still  fewer  are  inflected  for  gender. 

The  unchangeable  nouns,  such  as  '  goodness  ',  '  gold  ',  must 
be  known  from  their  character  and  meaning.  '  Goodness  '  is 
known  by  the  ending  '  ness '  to  be  what  is  called  an  Abstract 
noun.  '  Gold  ',  '  silver  ',  '  steel ',  are  known  by  their  meaning 
to  be  names,  or  nouns,  of  Material,  which  from  their  nature 
cannot  be  plural,  and  cannot  be  changed  for  gender. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  infinitives  are  limited  to  a  few  forms  : 
*  to  write  ',  '  to  have  written  ',  '  writing ',  '  having  written  ',  &c. 

Classes  of  Nouns. 

4.  Nouns  are  divided  into  five  classes. 

I.  Proper,  Singular,    Meaningless   Nouns : 

'Rome'.  ' Jordan',  'Sirius',  'Pharaoh'. 

These  are  called  proper,  because  they  belong  to  some  one  indi- 
vidual thing  or  person.  For  the  same  reason,  they  are  singular. 
'  Koine '  is  the  proper  and  peculiar  name  of  a  single  city. 

They  are  called  meaningless,  in  contrast  to  the  next  class. 

Examples  of  Proper  Nouns. 

Persons:  Noah,  Aristotle,  Caesar,  Luther,  Shakespeare. 
Places,  Buildings,  Machines,  notable  Objects:  Europe,  Medi- 
terranean, Lebanon,  Thames,  Malakoff,  Mons  Meg,  Koh-i-noor. 
Days,  Months,  Festivals :  Monday,  May,  Christmas. 
Branches  of  Knowledge :  Algebra,  Physics,  Botany,  Heraldry. 
Diseases:  Catarrh,  Typhus,  Pleurisy,  Aneurism,  Diphtheria. 

5.  II.     Common,     General,      Significant 
Nouns  :  'city',  'river',  'star',  'king*. 


16          PARTS  OP  SPEECH. — THE  NOUN. 

Whereas  the  name  '  Rome '  applies  only  to  one  object,  the 
name  '  city '  is  common  to  many  objects  ;  it  is  a  name  for  Koine, 
Paris,  London,  York,  and  a  great  many  others.  The  reason  of 
its  being  used  for  all  these  objects  in  common,  is  that  they 
resemble  one  another ;  Rome,  Paris,  and  London,  are  things  of 
the  same  kind,  they  are  inhabited  places,  each  under  one  autho- 
rity ;  to  them,  and  to  all  such,  the  name  'city'  is  applied. 
It  is  thus  common  to  a  great  number  of  things,  instead  of  being 
restricted  to  one  ;  it  is  general,  or  the  name  of  a  kind  or  class, 
instead  of  being  individual ;  it  is  significant,  or  has  a  meaning, 
because  when  applied  to  any  thing,  it  tells  us  that  that  thing 
has  a  certain  character.  To  say  that  Jerusalem  is  a  '  city ',  is 
to  say  that  it  resembles  Rome,  Paris,  London,  Dublin,  &c.,  and 
possesses  the  known  characters  common  to  all  these.  . 

A  proper  noun  is  a  mere  mark  or  sign  to  designate  a  thing, 
and  no  more  ;  'Jordan'  is  a  mark  for  a  particular  object,  and, 
if  never  used  for  anything  else,  it  recalls  that  object  alone. 
A  common  noun,  '  river ',  is  a  name  and  something  more  ;  it 
tells  us  what  sort  of  thing  is  named  :  '  a  body  of  running  water, 
rising  in  the  mountains,  and  flowing  to  the  sea'.  'River'  is 
thus  general,  while  'Jordan  '  is  particular  :  the  one  has  a  signi- 
fication, or  is  significant  ;  the  other  has  no  signification,  it  .is 
meaningless. 

Many,  probably  almost  all,  proper  nouns  were  originally  sig- 
nificant, conveying  some  particular  meaning.  This  was  first  oi 
all  pre-eminently  connected  with  a  single  individual,  and  then 
came  by-and-by  to  be  applied  to  this  individual  alone.  In  th  ; 
long  run,  this  signification  was  dropt,  and  the  name  was  regarded 
simply  as  the  distinctive  designation  of  the  particular  object. 
Whatever  meaning  '  Jordan  '  may  have  had  at  first,  it  is  nothing 
more  now  than  a  mark  to  know  a  certain  geographical  object  by  • 
it  im  plies  no  qualities  whatever.  '  Moses '  is  a  meaningless  name, 
serving  to  point  out  a  great  Jewish  leader  and  lawgiver;  it  does 
not  necessarily  recall  the  fact  of  his  having  been  drawn  out  of 
the  water,  and  it  may  be  applied  at  will  in  new  cases  without 
reference  to  that  fact.  '  Ehrenbreitstein ',  '  broad  stone  of 
honour ',  has  passed  to  the  stage  of  a  mere  geographical  name, 
and  as  such  is  purely  meaningless. 

The  most  characteristic  proper  nouns  are  those  that  have  been 
used  for  one  thing  alone,  and  have  never  been  applied  to  any- 
thing else.  Such  are  a  few  names  of  persons  and  places,  as 
(in  all  probability)  Nebuchadnezzar,  Rome,  Sahara,  Gibraltar. 
These  are  proper)  singular,  and  meaningless,  in  the  full  sense 
of  the  terms  ;  proper,  as  the  exclusive  property  of  a  single 
object ;  singular,  for  the  same  reason  ;  meaniniUss,  because, 
unlike  the  names — king,  city,  desert,  port — they  convey  no 


COMMON,    GENERAL,    SIGNIFICANT  :    CLASS.  17 

information  about  the  things,  assign  no  properties,  qualities,  or 
class  likenesses  of  the  objects. 

Owing  to  the  great  multitude  of  things  we  have  to  find  names 
for,  we  seldom  leave  a  name  in  the  exclusive  possession  of  one 
thing.  The  first  known  use  of  the  word  '  Hercules '  was  to 
name  a  great  fabulous  hero,  of  immense  bodily  strength  and 
courage.  It  has,  however,  been  largely  applied  to  other  persons, 
neither  fabulous  nor  heroes,  many  of  them  very  feeble  and  very 
timid.  Still,  had  it  been  confined  to  human  beings,  it  might 
have  been  so  far  a  common,  general,  or  significant  name,  as  to 
signify  that  the  object  named  is  a  man.  But,  for  want  of  sepa- 
rate names,  it  has  been  used  for  ships,  dogs,  horses,  railway 
engines  and  other  machines— things  with  no  resemblance  to  one 
another.  Hence,  although  applied  to  many  things,  it  is  not 
a  common,  general,  or  significant  name ;  when  we  hear  it, 
without  knowing  anything  further,  we  do  not  know  whether  it 
means  a  man,  a  ship,  a  dog,  or  a  machine. 

When  we  hear  the  name  '  Wellington  '  alone,  we  do  not  know 
whether  it  indicates  a  man,  a  town,  a  colony,  a  bridge,  a  street, 
a  ship,  or  a  pair  of  boots. 

'  China '  is  a  proper  name  ;  it  has,  however,  two  applications, 
but  there  is  no  similarity  between  them  ;  it  is  a  country,  and  it 
is  a  name  for  a  peculiar  manufacture.  So  '  Nankin '  has  two 
uses  ;  but  it  is  still  a  proper  name. 

'  Davy '  is  the  proper  name  for  a  man,  and  the  common  or 
significant  name  for  a  miner's  lamp. 

'  Lincoln '  is  a  proper  name,  but  is  not  confined  to  one  single 
object ;  still,  it  is  not  a  common  and  significant  name,  because; 
there  is  no  similarity  maintained  in  applying  it.  It  is  used  for 
places  and  for  persons,  and  we  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  were 
used  for  horses,  or  for  machines. 

It  is  in  naming  persons  that  we  are  most  under  the  necessity 
of  using  the  same  name  for  many  individuals  ;  thousands  of 
persons  are  called  by  the  same  name,  'Brown';  yet  Brown, 
although  so  widely  applied,  is  not  a  common,  general,  signifi- 
cant name.  There  is  nothing  common  to  all  the  Browns,  and 
distinguishing  them  from  all  the  Smiths,  the  Johnsons,  or  the 
Owens.  As  names  of  clans  or  families,  these  might  indicate 
common  descent,  and  be  to  that  extent  class  names  ;  but,  as 
there  are  many  circumstances  that  lead  to  the  shifting  of  names 
of  persons,  we  are  not  sure  even  of  this  amount  of  similarity. 

As  it  is  the  intention  of  those  names  to  signify  individuals, 
and  not  classes,  they  have  to  be  supplemented  by  additions  that 
render  them,  in  their  own  sphere,  strictly  proper,  singular 
names.  In  a  small  village  there  is  probably  only  one  man 
called  '  William  Brown ',  hence  that  name  is  a  proper,  singular, 

2 


18  PARTS    OF    SPEECH. — THE    NOUN. 

as  well  as  meaningless  name.  To  make  proper  names* still  more 
decisively  individual,  triple  or  quadruple  designations  may  be 
used.  Combinations  of  two — William  Brown,  George  Brown, 
David  Smith — must  often  recur  ;  combinations  of  three  would 
be  much  rarer — William  George  Brown,  David  Samuel  Smith, 
are  comparatively  infrequent.  When  the  middle  names  are 
surnames,  and  not  of  the  more  limited  class  of  ordinary  Christian 
names — as  John  Stanley  Smith— they  are  still  less  likely  to 
apply  to  a  plurality  of  persons.  When  we  make  a  combination 
that  is  used  for  only  one  person,  present  or  past,  that  combina- 
tion is,  in  the  strictest  sense,  proper,  singular,  and  meaningless. 

6.  Singular    and    Significant   Names. — Some 
Singular  objects  have  names  that  are  significant ;   as 
1  Providence ',  for  the  Deity,  '  Nature ',  '  Fate '. 

These  are  very  rare  instances,  and  belong  rather  to  the  poetic 
and  rhetorical  employment  of  language  than  to  the  ordinary  uses 
of  words.  The  word  '  providence '  is  significant  because  it  is 
applicable  to  many  things,  in  virtue  of  their  resemblance  ;  the 
act  or  quality  of  '  providence  '  is  shown  on  many  occasions.  As 
a  moral  virtue  it  may  be  manifested  by  a  number  of  different 
persons.  But,  by  what  is  called  a  figure  of  speech,  the  Avord 
has  a  special  application  to  the  one  Being  that  shows  the  quality 
in  an  extraordinary  or  infinite  degree. 

A  singular  object  may  have  a  significant  designation,  when 
several  significant  names  are  joined  together,  so  as  to  apply  to 
only  one  person  or  thing.  'Sovereign'  is  general  and  significant ; 
it  applies  to  many  persons  :  '  our  sovereign '  singles  out  one  ; 
the  adjective  '  our ',  by  its  limiting  force,  selects  from  the  class 
one  individual. 

It  is  the  function  of  the  adjective  thus  to  narrow  or  limit  a 
class  of  things,  and  the  limitation  is  sometimes  pushed  to 
individuality.  '  Powerful  sovereign '  is  more  limited  than 
'  sovereign  ',  but  still  the  designation  is  not  singular  ;  neither  is 
*  reigning  sovereign  '.  '  The  reigning  sovereign '  is  singular, 
through  the  peculiar  force  of  the  article  '  the ',  which  is,  by 
pre-eminence,  an  individualising  word,  as  will  be  afterwards 
explained. 

7.  Class    Names   are   the    same   as   General   and 
Significant  Names. 

The  objects  of  natural  history  are  arranged  in  classes  ;  a*) 
rocks,  metals,  palms,  birds,  apes.  So,  in  geography,  there  are 
the  classes —seas,  mountains,  rivers,  plains,  deserts.  Many 
other  objects  are  spoken  of  as  classes,  as  the  nobles,  lawyers, 


COLLECTIVE    AND   MATERIAL   NOUNS.  19 

traders.  These  names  are  all  general  and  significant ;  they 
are  the  names  common  to  a  great  number  of  individuals,  in 
virtue  of  resemblance  or  similarity.  All  the  bodies  called 
'  metals '  resemble  each  other  in  a  number  of  points  ;  *  nobles  ' 
have  peculiarities  in  common,  which  are  absent  from  other 
classes  of  the  community. 

8.  III.  Collective   Nouns:   as   'nation',  'regi- 
ment ',  '  fleet ',  '  senate ',  '  shoal '. 

The  Collective  noun  is  the  name  of  a  great  number  of 
individuals  taken  as  one  mass,  and  spoken  of  as  a  single  object. 
A  '  nation '  contains  thousands,  and  perhaps  millions,  of  indi- 
vidual men  and  women  ;  but  it  is  spoken  of  as  one  object, 
because  they  are  supposed  to  go  all  together.  A  *  fleet'  contains 
many  ships,  all  under  one  command,  and  keeping  together  for 
one  purpose.  '  The  fleet  was  victorious  ',  means  that  the  ships 
combined  to  gain  a  victory. 

Other  examples.— Parliament  was  opened  by  the  Queen.  The 
dan  was  mustered.  The  mob  was  dispersed.  The  Spanish 
Armada  was  unsuccessful.  The  meeting  is  large.  The  jury 
finds  the  prisoner  guilty.  The  court  has  passed  sentence.  The 
society  is  soon  to  meet.  The  board  is  about  to  issue  regulations. 
The  committee  was  not  called. 

Collective  names  are  also  general  and  significant  names  ;  for 
there  may  be  a  number  of  collections  of  the  same  things.  There 
are  many  fleets,  armies,  regiments,  clans,  hosts,  swarms  ;  and 
as  the  individual  fleets,  armies,  &c.,  resemble  each  other,  the 
names  are  general  and  significant.  Hence  all  these  nouns  are 
both  collective  and  general. 

Nouns  of  Multitude. — Sometimes  when  the  collective  noun  is 
used,  the  things  are  spoken  of  individually  and  separately,  as  if 
it  were  a  class  noun.  *  The  jury  were  kept  without  food ', 
means  that  the  jurymen  were  so  kept ;  because  the  action  of 
taking  food  cannot  apply  to  a  whole  body  collectively,  but  only 
to  men  individually.  These  collective  nouns  are  sometimes 
called  nouns  of  MULTITUDE.  They  occasion  difficulties  in 
Syntax,  as  will  be  afterwards  explained  (SYNTAX,  Concord  of, 
Subject  and  Verb). 

Peasantry,  tenantry,  youth,  nobility,  sisterhood,  are  examples 
of  collective  nouns  that  may  also  be  nouns  of  multitude. 

9.  IV.    Material   Nouns:     as    'iron',    'clay', 

'  wheat ', '  water ',  *  snow '. 

'  Iron '  is  the  name  for  all  the  iron  existing  everywhere,  viewed 
jus  a  single  collection.  '  Water '  is  the  name  for  all  water. 


t20  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   NOUN. 

1  Material  nouns  have  thus  a  resemblance  to  collective  nouns. 
iThe  difference  is,  that  the  material  masses  are  more  continuous, 
tor  less  regularly  divided  than  collections  of  objects.  Compare 
'*  water '  with  '  fleet ';  'iron  ',  ' coal ',  '  sand ',  with  '  artillery ' 
(collective). 

Again,  the  material  noun  'must  be  singular,  because  there 
cannot  be  two  complete  or  exhaustive  collections  of  one  material : 
**  silver '  is  all  existing  silver.  Unlike  the  collective  noun,  the 
material  noun  cannot  be  a  class  name.  Different  materials  may 
be  united  in  a  class,  by  their  resemblance  ;  as,  when  gold,  silver, 
iron,  &c.,  make  the  class  'metal';  but  'metal'  is  in  every 
prespect  a  general  and  significant  noun,  and  is  not  either  a 
/collective  or  a  material  noun. 

Examples  of  Material  Nouns.— Rock,  stone,  slate,  marble, 
granite,  sand,  mud,  lead,  brass,  zinc,  copper,  platinum,  gold, 
ialt,  alum,  soap,  potash,  butter,  ham,  tea,  sugar,  rice,  tobacco, 
bread,  linen,  flax,  cotton,  hemp,  paper,  wine,  beer,  brandy, 
(chloroform,  arsenic,  cloud,  mist,  dew,  hoar-frost. 

The  names  of  diseases  have  been  classed  under  proper  nouns. 
tThere  is  also  some  resemblance  between  them  and  nouns  of 
piaterial.  In  grammatical  construction,  they  agree  with  proper, 
material,  and  abstract  nouns,  and  differ  from  the  class  noun. 
|We  do  not  say  a  typhus,  typhuses.  '  Fever  '  is  sometimes  a 
class  noun,  and  used  in  the  plural,  implying  that  there  are 
various  kinds  of  fever. 

Apparent  Plurals  of  Material  Nouns. — When  strictly  used, 
•the  material  noun  cannot  be  plural,  for  the  reasons  given.  Yet, 
occasionally,  we  find  such  nouns  used  in  the  plural,  as  sands, 
Wines,  teas.  This  happens  in  three  ways. 

(1).  When  the  material  name  is  used  to  designate  the  things 
made  of  it ;  as  tins  for  certain  utensils  made  of  tin  ;  papers  for 
what  gives  the  news. 

(2).  When,  instead  of  the  whole  collection,  detached  portions 
of  it  are  meant ;  as  stones,  slates,  peats,  clouds,  lights. 

(3).  When  a  material  is  divided  into  distinct  kinds,  or 
•varieties ;  as  wines,  teas,  sugars,  salts,  cottons,  soaps,  earths, 
(waters.  This  is  the  commonest  case  of  the  material  noun  used 
in  the  plural. 

In  such  cases  the  noun  can  be  used  in  the  singular  with  '  a ' 
before  it :  a  tin,  a  stone,  a  wine,  a  sugar,  a  water. 

These  nouns  are  then  to  be  parsed  as  class  or  general  nouns, 
thus  :— '  The  botanist  studies  the  grasses,  and  has  found  a  new 
crass'  (general  noun).  'The  cow  eats  grass'  (material  noun). 
r'  They  had  fish  (material  noun)  for  dinner ' ;  '  they  ate  four 
'  (general  noun). 


ABSTRACT  NOUNS.  21 

When  number  is  thought  of,  we  have  a  plural  :  '  two  men  are 
in  the  room '.  When  quantity  is  thought  of,  even  when  expressed 
in  number,  we  have  the  singular  :  'twenty  pounds  was  the  sum 
charged '. 

10.  V.   Abstract    Nouns:  as  'length',  'round- 
ness ',  '  whiteness ',  '  health ',   *  regularity ',  '  bravery ', 
*  temperance ',  '  wisdom '. 

When  we  examine  an  actually  existing  thing,  as  a  house,  a 
lion,  we  find  that  it  has  many  different  properties  ;  a  house  is 
high,  it  is  long,  it  is  broad,  it  is  either  old  or  new,  and  so  on. 
We  may  look  at  it,  and  consider  the  height,  without  thinking  of 
the  length,  or  the  width,  or  the  colour,  or  the  age,  or  the  new- 
ness. In  so  doing  we  are  said  to  abstract  the  height  from  the 
other  properties.  So,  in  turn,  we  might  consider  the  length  or 
the  breadth,  each  by  itself,  without  expressly  thinking  of 
anything  else  ;  we  should  then  abstract  the  length,  or  the 
breadth,  as  the  case  might  be.  These  words — height,  length, 
breadth,  are  called  ABSTRACT  Nouns. 

So  with  a  lion.  We  might,  in  looking  at  the  lion,  think 
separately  and  particularly  of  his  size,  or  of  his  shape,  or  of  his 
colour,  or  of  his  strength,  or  of  his  fierceness ;  and,  when 
thinking  of  him  in  each  one  of  these  aspects,  we  should  be 
inattentive  to  the  other  points,  although  we  could  not  entirely 
keep  away  the  impression  of  them.  These  names,  therefore,  are 
abstract  nouns. 

Concrete  Names. — As  contrasted  with  the  abstract  names,  the 
'  house '  and  the  *  lion ',  each  considered  in  all  its  properties 
together,  are  named  by  concrete  names.  All  class  nouns,  which 
are  also  common,  general,  and  significant  nouns,  are  concrete 
nouns.  Material  nouns  are  likewise  concrete. 

For  every  separate  power,  property,  attribute,  or  aspect  of  a 
thing  in  the  concrete,  there  is  an  abstract  designation,  signifying 
that  we  are  attending  more  to  that  property  than  to  any  of  the 
others  inseparably  joined  with  it.  A  mountain  (concrete)  has 
height,  length,  width,  shape,  colour,  weight,  age — all  abstract. , 

A  man  has  height,  weight,  shape,  colour,  age,  strength, 
hunger,  taste,  courage,  skill,  virtuousness  or  viciousness,  and 
many  other  qualities,  which,  when  spoken  of  by  themselves,  are 
qualities  in  the  abstract,  and  are  named  by  abstract  nouns. 

11.  Abstract    Nouns    are    mostly    derived 
from  Adjectives  ;   as  'length',  from  long,  'round- 
ness ',  from  round,  '  regularity',  from  reyular. 


22         PARTS  OF  SPEECH. — THE  NOUN. 

The  adjective  expresses  a  property  or  attribute  in  combination 
with  the  concrete  noun — long  road,  round  tower,  wise  man. 
When  the  property  is  stated  as  an  abstract  noun — length, 
roundness,  wisdom,  the  noun  is  a  derivative  from  the  adjective : 
'  long  '  becomes  '  length  ',  '  round '  becomes  '  roundness  '. 

The  larger  number  of  abstract  nouns  are  derived  from  adjec- 
tives, by  the  addition  of  '  ness ' ;  black,  blackness  ;  brightness, 
righteousness,  foolishness,  boldness,  graciousness.  This  is  the 
chief  English  or  Saxon  ending. 

A  few  have  the  old  Saxon  termination  '  th ' :  truth,  width, 
strength,  wealth,  health,  death. 

Many  abstract  nouns  of  Latin  origin  end  in  *ty':  quality, 
nobility,  beauty,  curiosity,  verity,  honesty,  probity,  temerity, 
rapidity,  veracity,  cupidity,  stupidity. 

^  Another  class  end  in  '  ce ' :  prudence,  patience,  temperance, 
violence,  benevolence,  beneficence,  magnificence,  maleficence, 
malevolence,  justice. 

12.  Other  Abstract  Nouns  are  formed  from 
Verbs  ;  as  '  occupation',  'relief,  'conference',  'choice', 
'service'. 

*  Occupation  '  is  from  the  verb  '  occupy ',  and  expresses  the 
•action  of  the  verb,  like  the  infinitive  'to  occupy',  or  'occupying'. 

'  Relief '  is  from  the  verb  '  relieve '  and  is  nearly  the  same  as 
the  infinitives  '  to  relieve  ,'  '  relieving '. 

Bacon  says,  '  Reading  maketh  a  full  man,  conference  a  ready 
man '.  *  Reading '  and  '  conference '  both  express  the  action  of 
the  verb — the  one,  '  reading',  is  an  infinitive,  or  else  a  verbal  ab- 
stract noun,  the  other,  '  conference '  is  a  verbal  abstract  noun  ; 
*  conferring  '  would  have  been  the  exact  parallel  of  '  reading'. 

Further  examples. — Possession,  abduction,  malediction,  con- 
struction, election,  proof,  sense,  work,  revival,  reproach. 

In  such  forms  as  '  election  by  lot ',  '  vote  by  ballot ',  the  nouns 
are  the  same  as  the  infinitives  of  verbs  :  '  electing  by  casting 
lots ',  '  voting  by  balloting ',  '  worship  (worshipping)  is  a  part  of 
religion '. 

13.  Abstract  Nouns  are  by  nature  Singular. 

When  they  are  used  in  the  Plural,  they  are  converted 
into  common  or  general  nouns. 

They  then  mean  particular  examples,  acts,  or  ex- 
ercises. 

'  Length '  is  an  abstract  noun  (adjective  abstract).  It  is 
naturally  singular.  When  we  say  '  a  length '  and  '  lengths ',  we 


USES    OF   THE    NOUN.  23 

make  it  a  class  or  general  noun,  but  the  meaning  is  changed  ; 
instead  of  length  in  the  abstract,  we  take  a  particular  measure^ 
as  a  yard  length,  a  Held  length. 

'  Colour '  is  abstract,  as  in  '  colour  adds  to  the  pleasures  of  the 
eye ',  '  the  colour  of  the  sea '  ;  it  is  a  class  or  general  name  in 
'  the  colours  of  the  rainbow ',  which  means  different  species  or 
varieties  of  colour. 

'Friendship'  is  abstract,  the  state  of  being  and  having  a 
friend.  '  A  friendship ',  '  friendships '  are  the  singular  and 
plural  of  a  class  noun,  meaning  special  or  particular  relations  of 
friendship. 

'  Life  ',  abstract ;  '  a  life '  and  '  lives ',  common  or  general. 
'  They  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives,  and  in  their  death 
(abstract)  they  were  not  divided.'  'Liberty',  abstract;  'liberties', 
common— forms  or  kinds  of  liberty.  '  Hold  your  peaces ',  '  I  drink 
all  your  good  healths '. 

Other  examples. — Art,  grace,  beauty,  curiosity,  pleasure,  pas- 
sion, feeling,  will,  memory,  industry,  government,  society, 
severity,  belief,  proof,  reason,  virtue,  genius,  trial,  error,  resist- 
ance, service. 

Uses  of  the  Noun. 

14.  The  typical  application  of  the  Noun  to  name 
the  Subject  or  the  Object  of  the  sentence,  is  the 
basis  of  the  Definition.     (§  1.) 

15.  Nouns  are  also  used  to  complete  the  Predi- 
cate, with  certain  verbs  of  incomplete  meaning.     '  He 
is  a  shoemaker';  'they  are  fugitives1;  'Napoleon  was 
elected  Emperor  \     The  fact  is  not  stated  with  com- 
plete sense  by  the  verb  alone  without  the  added  nouns. 

16.  Nouns    occur  very   often    in    prepositional 
phrases,  that  is,  expressions  made  up  of  preposition 
and  noun  (or  some  equivalent  of  a  noun).    *  A  man  of- 
vrrtm',  'cases  of-the- utmost-^ ifficulty',   'he    came  in- 
gKat-haste '. 

17.  Nouns  are  very   extensively  used  as  Adjec- 
tives : — '  sea  monsters',   'field  guns',  'afoot  race', 
'  (jar den  walls'. 

This  usage  is  a  very  great  abbreviation,  by  ellipsis  and 
rearrangement.  '  Monsters  that  live  in  the  sea, '  is  shortened  to 


24         PARTS  OF  SPEECH. — THE  NOUN. 

*  monsters  living  in  the  sea ',  '  monsters  in  (or  of)  the  sea ' ;  and, 
finally,  the  only  important  Wurd  is  retained  and  put  in  the 
regular  position  of  the  typical  noun-qualifying  word,  the  Adjec- 
tive, '  sea  monsters '.  Compare  the  use  of  the  formal  adjective  : 
'  marine  monsters '. 

The  Possessive  of  the  Noun  (See  INFLEXION) 
is  practically  an  Adjective  :  '  the  King's  command '  is 
the  same  as  '  the  royal  command';  l&  soldier' sliiv'  is  'a 
military  life '. 

Substitutes  for  the  Noun. 

18.  Pronouns   regularly   take    the  place   of  the 
Noun.     (See  p.  25,  and  following). 

19.  Adjectives  are  often  converted  into  nouns;  as 
'  the  deep  ',  *  i\\Q  future ',  '  an  imbecile ',  '  extremes ',  *  the 
originals '. 

Such  examples  are  to  be  regarded  as  cases  of  ellipsis ;  a  noun, 
being  readily  understood,  is  omitted,  and  the  adjective  there- 
upon assumes  the  force  of  the  noun,  and  may  even  be  inflected  as 
a  noun.  The  full  forms  of  the  examples  given  would  be  :  '  the 
deep  sea ',  '  the  future  time ',  '  an  imbecile  person  ',  '  extreme 
positions,  opinions,  measures',  &c.,  'the  original  documents, 
pictures ',  &c. 

The  noun  thus  formed  is  often  abstract,  as  in  Greek  and 
'Latin  :  '  the  true '  for  '  truth  ',  *  the  beautiful '  for  *  beauty '. 

20.  The  Infinitive  forms  of  the  Verb  are  fre« 

quently  used  for  nouns.  '  To  be  united  is  to  be  strong ' 
is  the  same  as  'union  is  strength';  'to  delay  (or 
delaying)  is  dangerous  '  may  be  said  in  place  of  '  delay 
is  dangerous '. 

The  infinitive  form  is  more  simple  than  the  corresponding 
abstract  noun,  and  it  is  better  adapted  for  taking  on  adjuncts 
that  modify  the  action  expressed. 

21.  Adverbs   are  in  a  few  instances  turned  into 
nouns ;  as  '  the  ayes  have  it ',  '  the  ups  and  downs  of 
life ',  '  an  eternal  now ',  '  the  how,  the  ivlien,  and  the 
why ',  '  since  then '. 


SUBSTITUTES. — THE    PRONOUN.  25 

This  usage  is  prompted  by  the  desire  of  shortness  and  vivid- 
ness. '  The  ayes '  is  a  short  and  easily  understood  way  of  saying 
*  the  members  that  say  Ay'  ;  '  now  '  indicates  emphatically  and 
vividly  present  time,  '  how '  indicates  manner,  '  when  '  time,  and 
so  on. 

22.  A  Noun  Clause  is  a  complete  sentence 
standing  in  the  position  of  a  norm.  *  That  one  should 
be  careless  is  inexcusable'  is  another  way  of  saying 
'  carelessness  is  inexcusable  '. 

The  Noun  clause  gives  in  a  longer,  but  simpler,  form  the 
meaning  that  would  otherwise  be  expressed  by  a  noun  with 
adjuncts  expressed  or  understood.  It  is  a  very  opportune 
equivalent  in  cases  where  the  adjuncts  of  the  noun  would  be 
numerous  and  complicated. 


THE  PKONOUff. 
Definition. 

1.  The  Pronoun  differs  from  the  Noun  in 
expressing  a  thing,  not  by  its  own  name,  but 
by  a  reference  or  relation  to  something  else  : 

as  '/(the  person  now  speaking)  say' ;  '  he  (some  one 
formerly  mentioned)  remained '. 

The  first  object  of  the  Pronoun  is  to  save  by  a  reference  the 
mention  or  the  repetition  of  the  Noun.  Certain  pronouns  also, 
as  will  presently  be  seen,  obviate  the  necessity  of  repeating  the 
great  substitutes  of  the  Noun  in  composition— the  Infinitive  of 
the  Verb  and  the  Noun  Clause.  One  or  two  of  them  are,  further, 
extremely  useful  in  anticipating  these  equivalent  forms. 

Classes  of  Pronouns. 

2.  I.   Personal  :  'I',  'we';  'thou',  'you',  'ye'. 
1 1 '   and  'we'  are  pronouns  of  the  first  person  ; 

the  others,  'thou',  'ye',  'you',  are  pronouns  of  the 
second  person. 

1.  I  means  the  speaker  standing  alone  :  '  /  clmrge 
you  to  depart '. 


20  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE    PRONOUN. 

We  means  the  speaker,  and  others  associated  with 
him. 

In  oral  address  only  one  can  speak  at  a  time,  but  that  one, 
speaking  for  others  as  well  as  for  himself,  says  '  we  '.  The  fore- 
man of  a  jury  addresses  the  judge  in  the  words,  '  We  find  the 
prisoner  guilty '.  In  written  composition  '  we '  is  more  strictly 
correct,  because  the  parties  signing  their  names  at  the  end  are 
all  equally  supposed  to  be  uttering  their  sentiments. 

Persons  in  very  high  authority,  in  issuing  their  commands, 
often  use  '  we '  instead  of  '  I '  ;  as,  '  We,  Nicholas,  Autocrat  of 
all  the  Russias '. 

In  anonymous  writing,  as  in  newspapers  and  magazines,  the 
writer  speaks  as  '  we '.  This  is  called  the  editorial  l  we  '. 

'  We  '  is  used  in  speaking /o/'  humanity  generally  :  '  we  fancy 
that  we  shall  always  feel  as  we  do  now '. 

2.  Thou  is  addressed  to  one  person. 

In  the  usages  of  our  language  this  word  is  obsolete,  except  in 
the  following  cases  : — 

(1.)  In  addressing  the  Almighty  :  'Thou  art  the  Lord  alone  '. 

(2. )  In  poetical  use  :  l  0  thou  that  rollest  in  heaven  above  '. 

(3. )  In  expressing  familiarity  and  contempt :  '  Thou  vile 
creature '. 

(4.)  In  the  language  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

You  is  the  ordinary  pronoun  of  the  second  person 
for  one  or  more  persons. 

Ye  is  employed  for  elevation  :  '  Ye  hills  and  dales  '. 

'Nor  you,  ye  Proud,  impute  to  those  the  fault.' 
Also  in  familiarity  :  *  Ye  need  not  wait'. 

3.  II.  Demonstrative  Pronouns :'  he',  'she', 

1  it ' ;  '  they ' ;  '  this  ',  '  that '. 

4.  He  is  the  pronoun  of  the  male  sex  in  man  and  in 

the  higher  animals,  and  in  personified  objects. 

'  Henry  found  that  he  was  mistaken. '  Speaking  of  the  lion, 
we  say,  'he  is  very  strong';  of  the  sun,  'he  is  risen',  'he  is 
eclipsed '. 

5.  She  is  the  pronoun  of  the  feminine  gender  in 
man  and  in  animals,  and  in  personified  objects. 

'Elizabeth  knew  she  could  have  her  own  way';  'when  the 
lioness  sees  her  cubs  in  danger  she  flies  to  their  help ' ;  of  France 
we  can  say  '  she  has  experienced  many  vicissitudes  '. 


PERSONAL   AND    DEMONSTRATIVE.  27 

6.  It  is  the  pronoun  of  the  neuter  gender,  referring 
to  things  without  life,  and  to  living  beings  that  have 
no  sex.  '  The  house  is  near  ;  let  us  go  to  it '. 

When  a  human  being  or  an  animal  is  mentioned, 
without  marking  the  gender,  '  it '  is  the  pronoun  used  : 
— '  It  is  a  healthy  child.'  '  Where's  the  dog  1  I  have 
missed  it '. 

All  objects  spoken  of,  that  have  no  sex,  or  whose  sex  is  over- 
looked, are  signified  by  'it'  :— '  Bring  the  light ;  put  it  on  the 
table  '  ;  '  I  went  to  the  river ;  it  was  swollen  ' ;  '  Lo,  where  it 
(the  ghost)  comes  again  ! ' 

The  Modes  of  Reference  of  '  It '. 

The  modes  of  reference  of  this  pronoun  are  various,  and  lead 
to  conflicts  of  meaning. 

I.  The  Backward  or  Retrospective  reference, 
to  a  noun,  an  infinitive,  or  a  clause. 

1.  The  usual  form  of  this  is  to  some  single  noun 
going  before,  as  in  the  examples  given. 

2.  An  Infinitive  phrase,  which  is  equivalent  to 
a  noun,  may  also  be  pointed  back  to. 

'  To  resist  your  acts  was  necessary  as  it  (namely,  to  resist  your 
acts)  was  just '  ;  '  to  invoke  your  pity  would  be  as  useless  as  I 
should  hold  it  (namely,  to  invoke  your  pity)  mean  '. 

3.  Another   mode  of   backward   reference,  less  fre- 
quently occurring,  is  to  a  clause. 

'  The  day  will  be  fine ;  no  one  doubts  it. '  Here  the  ante- 
cedent is  not  the  noun  'day',  but  the  whole  assertion  or  clause 
'  the  day  will  be  fine '.  '  I  have  done  the  state  some  service,  and 
they  know  it,'  means  that  they  know  the  fact  that  'I  have 
done  the  state  some  service  '. 

The  reference  may  be  still  more  comprehensive,  as  when  at  the 
end  of  a  long  narrative,  the  hearer  says,  '  never  mind  it ' ;  '  who 
would  have  thought  it  ?  ' 

II.  The  Forward  or  Anticipating  reference. 

The  subject  of  the  reference  in  this  application  is  very 
seldom  a  noun,  it  is  either  a  phrase  or  a  clause. 


28  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE   PKONOUN. 

1.  The  anticipating  of  a  single  noun  by  'it'  is  a 
rhetorical  device  rather  than  an  ordinary  form  of  plain 
prose. 

'  Surely,  if  needful,  it  is  also  frightful,  this  machine ';  '  'tis 
entirely  of  the  earth  that  passion '.  The  plain  straightforward 
form  is  :  '  this  machine  is  also  frightful ',  '  that  passion  is  entirely 
of  the  earth '. 

There  are  also  such  examples  as  the  following:  —  'it  is  sur- 
prising the  littler-ogress  we  made '.  This,  however,  is  in  reality  a 
transmuted  clause  ;  if  expressed  in  the  full  and  regular  form, 
the  sentence  would  stand  thus  :  —  ' it  is  surprising  how  little  we 
advanced — that  we  made  so  little  progress  '. 

2.  The  infinitive  phrase  is  extremely  common. 

'  It  is  healthy  to  walk  ';  '  it  is  useless  debating ';  '  it  is  vain 

to  make  excuses '. 

3.  The  noun  clause  is  also  most  frequently  anti- 
cipated by  '  it '. 

'  It  is  probable  that  the  day  will  be  fine ';  '  it  is  said  that  our 
army  has  gained  a  victory '.  The  clauses  are  most  commonly 
introduced  by  the  conjunction  '  that ',  but  other  conjunctions 
may  be  employed  : — '  It  is  uncertain  if  (or  whether,  or  when)  he 
will  come  '  ;  'it  is  laid  down  how  far  we  should  go,  and  what 
or  how  much  we  should  ask  '. 

This  use  of  '  it '  gives  us  something  of  the  power  of  inversion 
belonging  to  languages  different  in  structure  from  ours,  and  thus 
takes  away  an  imperfection  of  our  language  as  compared  with 
these  others.  The  idiom  '  there  is '  has  the  same  effect. 

ill.  The  Indefinite  reference. 

This  is  carried  to  the  utmost  in  the  sayings,  '  it  rains ',  '  what 
is  itl'  '  how  is  it  with  you  ? '  'it  is  all  over  with  us ',  '  they  lord 
it ',  '  we  roughed  it  in  the  back  woods ',  '  he  stars  it  in  the  pro- 
vinces ',  '  trip  it  as  ye  go '.  In  such  cases,  there  is  scarcely  a 
possibility  of  assigning  any  precise  object,  circumstance  or  fact, 
as  an  antecedent  or  reference.  We  can  only  in  some  circuitous 
way  suppose  that  there  is  some  action  in  the  distance  that  leads 
to  the  employing  of  the  pronoun.  '  What's  doing  outside  ? ' 
some  one  asks,  with  reference  to  the  weather,  and  the  answer  is 
'  it  rains  ' :  a  short  way  of  saying  that  the  action  or  on-going  in 
the  matter  of  weather,  is  the  fall  of  rain. 

This  vagueness  explains  the  use  of  the  pronoun  in  violation 
of  the  concords  of  gender  and  number  : — '  It  was  he,  nut  she, 
that  I  saw  '. 

'Tis  tlify  that  give  the  great  Strides  spoils.' 


VARIETY    OF    REFERENCE    OF    '  IT '.  29 

The  pronoun  '  it '  thus  appears  to  have  at  least  three  distinct 
modes  of  reference  in  common  use  :  1st,  to  a  simple  subject,  or 
noun,  going  before  ;  2nd,  to  a  phrase  or  a  clause  going  before  ; 
3rd,  to  a  phrase  or  a  clause  corning  after.  Hence  we  are  often 
in  great  perplexity  to  say  which  of  several  possible  references  a 
writer  has  in  view  when  he  uses  the  word.  '  "When  wit  hath 
any  mixture  of  raillery,  it  is  but  calling  it  banter,  and  the  thing 
is  done.'  Here  we  judge  from  the  meaning  that  the  first  'it' 
is  forward  or  anticipative,  and  the  second  backward  or  retro- 
spective. The  full  illustration  of  this  difficulty,  and  of  the 
various  modes  of  obviating  it  are  given  elsewhere  (Companion  to 
the  Higher  Grammar,  pp.  43-50)  ;  at  the  same  time  we  append 
here  a  few  typical  examples.  We  may  farther  remark  that 
the  relative  '  which  '  has  the  same  twofold  reference,  retrospec- 
tively, to  a  single  subject  or  to  a  whole  phrase  or  clause. 

Further  examples  of  the  Pronoun  'it'.— We  have  seen  that 
the  variety  of  reference  of  this  pronoun  is  a  frequent  cause  of 
ambiguity.  The  peculiar  idiom  '  it  is ',  '  it  appears  ',  '  it  is 
said',  ' it  comes  to  pass ',  followed  by  the  thing  referred  to,  makes  a 
clash  of  meaning  such  as  does  not  occur  with  the  other  pronouns. 
'  I  am  going  to  mention  the  matter.  It  is  right  that  it  should 
be  mentioned. '  The  first  '  it '  here  is  prospective,  and  refers  to 
the  clause  '  that  it  should  be  mentioned '  ;  the  second  refers  back 
to  '  the  matter '. 

'  It  had  been  well  both  for  England  and  (for)  Scotland  that 
there  had  been  more  of  such  good  and  moderate  kings,  as  it 
would  have  prevented  many  long  wars. '  '  It '  in  both  instances 
points  to  the  same  clause  — '  that  there  had  been  more  of  such  good 
and  moderate  kings  ' — but  the  first  precedes,  and  the  other 
follows  the  clause. 

'There  are  so  many  advantages  of  speaking  one's  own  lan- 
guage well,  and  being  a  master  of  it,  that  let  a  man's  calling 
be  what  it  will,  it  cannot  but  be  worth  our  taking  some  pains 
in  it.'  The  variety  of  reference  here  is  very  great.  The  first 
'  it '  has  '  language '  for  its  antecedent,  the  prominent  subject 
of  the  previous  clause,  and  is  therefore  unexceptionable  ;  the 
second  '  it '  readily  refers  us  to  the  noun  immediately  preceding, 
'calling';  the  third  is  an  indefinite  reference  rather  than  a 
reference  to  '  language ' ;  and  the  fourth  carries  us  back  to 
'  language  '.  To  remedy  the  confusion,  the  third  '  it '  should 
be  done  away  with,  and  the  second  removed  to  the  end  :  '  the 
advantages  of  speaking  one's  own  language  well  are  so  many, 
that  the  taking  of  some  pains  to  be  master  of  it,  cannot  but  be 
worth  while  to  every  man,  let  his  calling  be  what  it  will '. 
The  pronouns  remaining  are  so  placed  that  their  antecedents  ( 
are  obvious.  Even  the  second  'it'  may  be  easily  dispensed' 


30  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE   PRONOUN. 

with  by  changing  the  last  clause  to  'whatever  may  be  his 
calling '. 

When  we  intend  to  employ  the  prospective  'it ',  'it  is  ',  &c., 
we  should  not  bring  the  retrospective  use  into  collision  with  the 
other.  'The  best  way  in  the  world  for  a  man  to  seem  to  be 
anything  is  really  to  be  what  he  would  seem  to  be.  Besides 
that,  it  is  many  times  as  troublesome  to  make  good  the  pretence 
of  a  good  quality  as  to.  have  it ;  and  if  a  man  have  it  not,  it  is 
ten  to  one  but  he  is  discovered  to  want  it,  and  then  all  his  pains 
and  labours  to  seem  to  have  it  are  lost.'  Here  the  two  modes 
of  reference  are  inextricably  confused  together.  One  of  them 
ought  to  be  done  away  with.  '  Besides,  to  make  good  the  pre- 
tence of  a  goo_i  quality  is  many  times  as  troublesome  as  to 
have  it;  and  if  a  man  have  it  not,  ten  to  one  but  he  is  discovered 
to  want  it,  and  then  all  his  pains  and  labour  to  seem  to  have  it 
are  lost. '  The  sole  reference  now  is  to  the  one  subject  '  quality '. 

'  If  it  were  spoken  with  never  so  great  skill  in  the  actor,  the 
manner  of  uttering  that  sentence  could  have  nothing  in  it 
which  could  strike  any  but  people  of  the  greatest  humanity — 
nay,  people  elegant  and  skilful  in  observations  upon  it.'  The 
first  'it'  refers  to  'sentence',  the  others  to  'manner'.  The  first 
might  be  left  out,  the  clause  being  converted  into  a  participial 
expression  which  would  be  readily  interpreted  as  in  connection 
with  '  that  sentence  '  :  '  if  spoken  with  never  so  great  skill '. 

'  It  is  a  sign  of  great  prudence  to  be  willing  to  receive  in- 
struction ;  the  most  intelligent  persons  sometimes  stand  in 
need  of  it.'  'Willingness  to  receive  instruction  is  a  sign  of 
great  prudence  ;  the  most  intelligent  persons  sometimes  stand 
in  need  of  it' — is  better;  although  the  natural  antecedent 
would  still  be,  not  'instruction',  but  'willingness'.  Or  the 
first  '  it '  may  stand,  and  the  repetition  of  '  instruction '  be 
saved  by  the  use  of  another  noun  of  much  the  same  meaning ; 
as  '  information  and  suggestion '. 

7.  They  is  the  plural  of  '  He  '  and  '  She '  applied 
to  persons,  and  of  *  It '  applied  to  things. 

'  I  met  the  soldiers  ;  they  were  on  the  march. '  *  I  saw  his 
daughters  ;  they  were  in  the  field. '  '  Gold,  silver,  and  platinum 
are  the  noble  metals  ;  they  are  so  called  because  they  do  not 
rust. ' 

8.  This    and   That    are   properly   Demonstrative 
Adjectives. 

They  usually  have  a  noun  expressed  or  understood,  as  '  I  take 
tkfjt  place,  you  take  that '.  In  the  first  clause,  the  noun  '  place ' 


DEMONSTRATIVES,    DIRECT    AND    INDEFINITE.  31 

is  expressed,  in  the  second  it  is  understood  ;  in  the  one,  '  this  ' 
is  an  Adjective,  in  the  other,  '  that '  may  be  classified  as  either 
an  Adjective  or  a  Demonstrative  Pronoun. 

The  case  where  '  that '  seems  to  have  most  of  the  nature  of  a 
true  pronoun  is  seen  in  the  following  sentences  ;  '  he  mistook 
his  own  room  for  that  of  the  stranger  '  :  '  the  song  of  the  nightin- 
gale is  more  various  than  that  of  the  thrush '.  This  is  a  form 
derived  from  the  French  ;  our  native  idioms  applicable  to  the 
case,  which  are  to  be  preferred  when  they  can  be  used,  are,  1st, 
to  repeat  the  noun, — '  his  own  room  for  the  stranger's  room  '  ; 
and  2nd,  to  use  the  possessive  without  the  noun, — '  for  the 
stranger's '.  The  possessive  inflexion  being  so  rarely  in  use,  we 
are  thrown  principally  upon  the  first  form  when  we  wish  to 
keep  clear  of  the  Gallicism. 

In  the  line,  'to  be,  or  not  to  be,  that  is  the  question',  'that' 
may  be  considered  as  a  pronoun,  having  a  whole  clause  for  the 
antecedent,  as  we  have  seen  with  the  demonstrative  'it'.  We 
might  still  consider  the  word  as  an  adjective  with  a  noun 
dropped,  or  put  in  a  different  place,  and  so  look  upon  the  pas- 
sage as  an  abbreviation  of  '  to  be,  or  not  to  be — that  question 
is  it '.  '  One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  (thing)  I 
will  seek  after.' 

'  This '  is  of  the  nature  of  a  pronoun  in  the  phrases  '  before, 
this',  '  after  this'  ;  there  being,  however,  an  ellipsis  of  'time  '. 

For  the  full  illustration  of  the  various  uses  of  '  this '  and 
'that',  see  the  Companion  to  the  Higher  Grammar,  pp.  52-61. 

9.  Certain  Pronouns  of  Demonstrative 
signification  are  called  Indefinite,  from  signi- 
fying not  any  particular  subject,  but  persons  or  things 
taken  generally.  Such  are  One  and  They  \  'one 
cannot  be  sure  of  that ' ;  '  any  of  the  little  O'lies '. 

They  is  also  used  colloquially  in  this  indefinite  sense  :  '  they 
say  that  the  harvest  is  good ' ;  but  '  the  harvest  is  said  to  be 
good '  is  better  English. 

In  the  first  example,  one  is  a  special  application  of  the 
numeral,  taking  the  place  of  the  old  indefinite  'man',  perhaps 
under  some  slight  influence  of  the  French  on,  which  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  homine — man.  "When  the  subject  of  the  verb  is 
unknown,  or  of  little  consequence,  the  French  use  on,  as  en  dit 
— 'it  is  said'  (by  no  one  in  particular);  'on  commence  & 
6riger' — 'people  begin  to  build'  ;  it  being  no  matter  who  are 
to  be  employed,  provided  the  work  is  done.  We  use  the  passive 
voice  in  such  cases  :  '  the  building  is  begun  '.  We  employ  '  one ' 
in  somewhat  diiferent  circumstances.  Thus,  if  we  were  putting 


32  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE    PRONOUN. 

a  supposition  by  way  of  argument  or  illustration,  we  might 
give  it  in  the  following  forms  :  '  suppose  /  were  to  lose  my  way 
in  a  wood '  ;  or,  '  suppose  you  were  to  lose  your  way ' ;  or, 

*  suppose  one  were  to  lose  one's  way '.     All  are  made  use  of,  but 
as  a  general  rule,  the  last  is  preferred  as  a  matter  of  good  taste. 
The  first  is  objectionable  as  verging  on  egotism,  the  second  as 
using  freedoms  with  another  person,  whereas  the  third  is  indif- 
ferent.     '  If  one's  honesty  were  impeached,   what   should   one 
do  ? '  is  a  politer  mode  of  making  the  supposition  than  to  take 
either  one's  self,  or  the  person  addressed,  for  the  example. 

'  One  '  should  be  followed  by  '  one ',  and  not  by  '  he  '.  *  What 
one  sees  or  feels,  one  cannot  but  be  sure  that  one  sees  or  feels. ' 
This  may  sound  stiff,  but  the  following  is  lax  :  '  the  better 
acquainted  one  is  with  any  kind  of  rhetorical  trick,  the  less 
liable  he  is  to  be  misled  by  it ' . 

In  the  second  example  given  above — 'the  little  ones' — 'one' 
is  the  numeral  employed  in  the  manner  of  a  pronoun,  by  indi- 
cating something  that  has  gone  before  (or  perhaps  has  to  come 
after)  :  '  I  like  peaches,  but  I  must  have  a  ripe  one,  or  some  ripe 
ones '. 

Other  adjectives  are  used  in  almost  the  same  way  ;  as  '  give 
me  one  or  two ' ;  '  I  will  take  either,  or  neither,  or  loth,  or  any 
,  one,  or  some,  or  all,  or  none '. 

'  Such  '  and  '  same  '  are  employed  as  demonstrative  pronouns  : 
'  if  you  are  a  man,  show  yourself  such  '.  The  use  of  '  same  '  in 
common  style  is  inelegant.  The  adverbs,  '  so  ',  '  thus ',  '  then  ', 
'  there  ',  '  here  ',  '  hence  ',  '  thence  ',  '  hither ',  '  thither ',  serve 
the  purpose  of  the  demonstratives  :  '  do  so  then ',  for  «  do  it ',  or 
'  do  that '  ;  '  and  if  so  be  that  he  find  it '. 

10.  Compound  Personal  and  Demonstra- 
tive Pronouns — Reflexive.  The  word  self  enters 
into  compounds  with  both  the  Personal  and  Demon- 
strative Pronouns;  as  'myself,  'thyself,  '  onrself , 

*  ourselves  ',  '  yourself ',  '  yourselves  ',  '  himself  ',  '  her- 
self ',  *  itself ',  '  oneself  ',  or  '  one's  self ',  '  themselves  '. 
These  are  called  Reflexive  Pronouns. 

The  true  reflexive  use  is  seen  in  cases  like  '  I  hurt  myself, 
'he  does  himself  injustice  ',  '  mind  yourself  ;  the  action  of  the 
subject  being  turned  back  upon  himself,  so  that  he  is  object  as 
well.  These  pronouns  also  impart  emphasis:  as  'I  myself, 
'he  himself,  'they  themselves';  and  this  is  the  original 
application.  Both  the  intensive  or  emphatic  and  the  strictly 
reflexive  use  appear  in  Tennyson's  line:  "And  I  myself  some- 
times despise  myself". 


REFLEXIVE.   INTERROGATIVE  AND  RELATIVE.    33 

Nearly  always  "in  the  oldest  English,  and  very  frequently 
later,  especially  in  poetry,  the  simple  pronouns  are  used  as 
reflexive  objects  :  '  ic  me  reste  (I  rest  me) ',  *  he  threw  him 
down  ',  '  I  will  bethink  me  ',  *  quit  you  like  men  ',  *  comfort  yet 
comfort  ye,  my  people  '. 

11.  III.     Interrogative    Pronouns: — 'who', 
*  which  ',  *  what ',  '  whether '. 

1 2.  Who  applies  to  persons,  and  is  entirely  indefinite. 
(  Who  goes  there  1 '  supposes  complete  ignorance  of  the 
person  alluded  to. 

13.  Which,  unlike  its  use  as  a  Relative,  applies  to 
persons  as   well   as   to   things.     Its   peculiar   force  is 
selective. 

The  application  to  all  genders  is  in  accordance  with  the 
original  derivation  ;  the  old  English  form  of  '  which  ',  hwilc, 
being  for  '  hwi-lic '  (who-like  or  what-like),  and  -lie  being  open 
to  the  necessary  inflections. 

'  Which '  supposes  a  known  class  or  group,  and  inquires  the 
specific  individual  or  individuals  :  '  Which  of  you  convinceth 
me  of  sin  ? '  '  Which  is  the  way  ? '  '  Whidi  is  the  best  ? ' 

14.  What  applies  exclusively  to  things ;  as  '  what 
did  you  see  ? '     '  What  is  to  be  done  ? ' 

In  the  earliest  period  of  the  language  '  what '  was  the  regular 
neuter  corresponding  to  the  masculine  and  feminine  '  who  '. 

It  may  be  called  by  pre-eminence  the  interrogative  of  know- 
ledge, or  the  expression  of  a  desire  to  be  informed  respecting 
some  part  of  the  world  :  '  What  is  man  ? '  '  What  is  light- 
ning ? '  '  What  is  the  cause  of  the  tides  ? ' 

15.  Whether,  an  old  dual,  was  formerly  applied 
to  ask  '  which  of  two  ' :  '  Whether  is  greater,  the  gold, 
or  the  temple  1 '     l  Whether  of  them  twain  did  the  will 
of  his  father  1 ' 

16.  IV.  Relative  Pronouns:  'who',  'which', 

'  that ',  '  what '.     These  are  the  proper  relatives. 

'  Who ',  '  which ',  and  '  what ',  were  all  previously  interroga- 
tives  ;  '  that '  was  demonstrative.  The  relative  usage  is  a  later 
application. 

3 


34        PARTS  OF  SPEECH. — THE  PKONOUN. 

There  are  several  other  words  that  answer  the  purpose  of 
relatives  ;  '  (such)  as  ',  '  but ',  '  when  ',  '  where ',  '  whither  \ 
*  whence  ',  and  the  compounds,  *  whoever ',  '  whoso  ',  •  whoso- 
ever ',  '  wliichever  ',  '  whichsoever  ',  '  whatsoever  ',  '  whenever ', 
'whensoever',  &c. 

17.  A  Relative  Pronoun  stands  for  a  noun, 
or  subject  otherwise    mentioned,   with  the 
power  of  a  conjunction  besides.     It  joins  sen- 
tences and  clauses  by  referring  back  directly  to  some- 
thing just  named. 

In  the  sentence,  '  I  found  an  old  acquaintance,  whom  I  had 
not  seen  for  some  time  '  ;  '  whom  '  is  the  same  as  *  and  him  I 
had  not  seen '.  £  I  do  not  know  -what  you  say  '  is  equivalent 
to  '  I  do  not  know  that  that  you  say  ',  '  you  say  that,  but  I  do 
not  know  that '. 

18.  Who  and  its  compounds,  'whoso',  'whoever', 
'  whosoever ',  apply  to  persons ;  and  l  who  '  sometimes 
applies  to  the  higher  animals. 

In  the  earliest  English,  '  who '  was  interrogative.  The 
inflected  forms  'whose'  and  'whom'  appear  as  relatives  in 
the  12th  century  ;  'who'  itself  was  much  later  in  'being  used 
as  a  relative,  and  did  not  freely  act  as  such  till  the  36th 
century. 

In  the  Elizabethan  times  'who'  was  not  un frequently 
applied  to  lifeless  objects  ;  mostly,  perhaps,  with  a  feeling  of 
personification.  Shakespeare  has:  'a  gentle  flood,  who,  K'irig 
stopped,  the  bounding  banks  oVrflows ' ;  '  the  winds,  who  take 
the  ruffian  billows  by  the  tops  '  ;  and  such  like. 

'  Who '  is  commonly  applied  in  two  very  different 
significations. 

I.  To  connect  two  co-ordinate  sentences  : 

as  '  I  met  the  watchman,  who  told  me  there  had  been  a 
fire  '. 

Here  the  two  sentences  are  distinct  and  independent  ;  in  such 
a  ease  'and  he'  might  have  been  substituted  for  *  who'. 

Another  form  of  the  same  use  is  when  the  second  clause  is  of 
the  kind  termed  adverbial,  where  we  may  still  resolve  '  who ' 
into  a  personal  or  demonstrative  pronoun  and  a  COD  junction. 
4  Why  should  we  consult  Charles,  who  (for  he,  seei'iig  that  he) 
nothing  of  the  matter  ? ' 


CO-ORDINATING   AND   RESTRICTIVE.  35 

II.  In  modern  use,  more  especially  in  books,  '  who ' 
is  frequently  employed  to  introduce  a  clause 
intended  to  restrict,  define,  limit,  or  explain 
a  noun  (or  its  equivalent) ;  as  '  that  is  the  man  ivho 
spoke  to  us  yesterday  '. 

If  ere  the  clause  introduced  by  '  who  '  is  necessary  to  define  or 
explain  the  antecedent  '  the  man  '  ;  without  it  we  do  not  know 
who  '  the  man  '  is.  Such  relative  clauses  are  typical  adjective 
clauses  :  i.e.,  they  have  the  same  effect  as  adjectives  in  limiting 
nouns.  This  may  be  called  the  restrictive  use  of  the  relative. 

Now  it  will  be  found  that  the  practic  e  of  our  most  idiomatic 
writers  and  speakers  is  to  prefer  *  that '  to  '  who  '  in  this  appli- 
cation ;  whereas,  for  the  other  meaning,  '  that '  would  be  less 
proper. 

19.  Which  refers  to  lifeless  objects.  The  com- 
pounds, '  whichever'  and  *  whichsoever',  may  refer  also 
to  persons. 

Though  original! y  interrogative,  'which'  appears  very  early 
as  a  relative  ;  and  this  use  was  confirmed  and  extended  by 
French  influence.  By  the  13th  century  it  was  not  uncommon. 

The  exclusion  of  '  which'  from  reference  to  persons  (compare 
'  which '  interrogative,  §  13),  has  become  more  and  more 
strict,  since  the  end  of  the  17th  century.  Before  then  the 
application  of  '  which  '  to  persons  was  quite  common.  '  Our 
Father  which  art  in  Heaven ',  is  a  familiar  representative  of 
numerous  examples  in  the  Bible.  Even  Tennyson  wrote  : 
'  The  one  true  lover  which  you  ever  had  ' ;  but  the  newest  edi- 
tion (1878)  reads  '  The  one  true  lover  whom  you  ever  owrid  '. 

1  Which '  is  employed  with  reference  to  things  in  both 
the  senses  just  given  of  '  who '  with  reference  to 
persons. 

First,  in  co-ordinate  sentences,  where  'it',  or  'they',  and  a. 
conjunction  .night  answer  the  purpose  ;  thus,  'at  school  I 
studied  geometry,  which  (and  it)  I  found  useful  afterwards '. 
Here  the  new  clause  is  something  independent  added  to  the 
previous  clause,  and  not  limiting  that  clause  i»  any  way.  So 
in  the  adverbial  clause,  as  '  he  struck  the  poor  dog,  which  (and 
or  although  it)  had  never  done  him  harm  '.  Such  instances 
represent  the  most  accurate  meaning  of  'which  ',  as  of  '  who'; 
and  accordingly,  we  might  term  these  the  CO-ordinating 
relatives. 


36  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PRONOUN. 

1  Which '  is  likewise  used  in  restrictive  clauses  that  limit  or 
explain  its  antecedent ;  as  '  the  house  which  he  built  still 
remains '.  Here  the  clause  introduced  by  '  which '  specifies,  or 
points  out,  the  house  that  is  the  subject  of  the  statement, 
namely,  by  the  circumstance  that  a  certain  person  built  it.  As 
remarked  with  regard  to  '  who ',  our  most  idiomatic  writers 
prefer  '  that '  in  this  particular  application,  and  would  say 
'  the  house  that  he  built  remains  '. 

Thei»e  is  a  special  reference  of  '  which'  attaching  to  it 
as  the  neuter  relative. 

'Caesar  crossed  the  Rubicon,  which  was  in  effect  a  declaration 
of  war'.  The  antecedent  to  '  which  '  in  this  instance  is  not  the 
'  Rubicon ',  but  the  entire  clause,  '  Caesar  crossed  the  Rubicon  '; 
this  fact  being  what  amounted  to  war.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  neuter  demonstrative  'it'  in  like  manner  may  have  a 
clause  for  its  antecedent  (>  6)  :  we  might  say  '  Caesar  crossed 
the  Rubicon  when  nobody  expected  it ';  '  it '  referring  still  to  the 
fact  of  Cesar's  crossing,  and  not  to  the  '  Rubicon  '.  Now  this 
meaning  of  '  which  '  is  not  one  of  the  meanings  of  the  relative 
'  that '  as  a  retrospective  pronoun,  although  '  that '  may  apply 
to  things  as  well  as  to  persons. 

There  is  a  peculiar  usage  where  '  which  '  may  seem  to  be  still 

regularly  used  in  reference  to  persons ;  as  in  '  John  is  a 

a  soldier,  which  I  should  also  like  to  be  ',  that  is,  '  and  I  should 
also  like  to  be  a  soldier '.  But  although  the  complement  of  the 
verb  is  here  in  the  form  of  a  noun,  the  usual  form  is  the 
adjective  ;  and  examples  like  these  may  be  regarded  as  similar 
to  the  following,  where  the  reference  is  to  an  adjective  :  '  He 
turned  quite  white  from  red,  which  he  had  been ' — that  is,  '  he 
had" been  red '.  The  demonstratives  '  this',  '  that ',  '  such ',  '  so  ', 
as  well  as  '  either ',  '  neither ',  and  '  both ',  are  used  similarly. 

The  form  '  the  which  ',  so  common  in  the  Elizabethan  period, 
occurs  early  in  the  1 4th  century,  as  equivalent  to  the  French 
lequel,  laquelle.  It  obtained  much  more  favour  than  the  com- 
panion form  '  the  whom  '.  '  The  whose  '  was  also  used. 

20.  'That'  is  the  proper  restrictive,  expli- 
cative, limiting,  or  defining  relative. 

'That,'  the  neuter  of  the  definite  article,  was  early  in  use  as 
a  neuter  relative.  All  the  other  oldest  relatives  gradually  dropt 
away,  and  '  that '  came  to  be  applied  also  to  plural  antecedents, 
and  to  masculines  and  feminines.  When  'as',  'which',  and 
'  who  ',  canic  forward  to  share  the  work  of  '  that ',  there  seems  to 


1  THAT  ',  THE  PROPER  RELATIVE  OF  RESTRICTION.      37 

have  arisen  not  a  little  uncertainty  about  the  relatives,  and  we 
find  curious  double  forms  :  '  whom  that ',  '  which  that ',  '  which 
as ',  &c.  Gower  has  '  Venus  whose  priest  that  I  am '  ;  Chaucer 
writes — 'This  Abbot  which  that  was  an  holy  man,'  'his  love 
the  which  that  he  oweth '.  By  the  Elizabethan  period,  these 
double  forms  have  disappeared,  and  all  the  relatives  are  used 
singly  without  hesitation.  From  then  till  now,  '  that '  has 
been  struggling  with  '  who '  and  '  which '  to  regain  superior 
favour,  with  varying  success. 

The  best  writers  often  appear  to  grope  after  a  separate  employ- 
ment for  the  several  relatives.  'Who'  is  used  for  persons, 
'  which  '  for  things,  in  both  numbers  ;  so  is  '  that ' ;  and  the 
only  opportunity  of  a  special  application  of  '  that '  lies  in  the 
important  distinction  between  co-ordination  and  restriction. 
Now,  as  '  who  '  and  '  which  '  are  most  commonly  preferred  for 
co-ordination,  it  would  be  a  clear  gain  to  confine  them  to  this 
sense  and  to  reserve  '  that '  for  the  restrictive  application  alone. 
This  arrangement,  then,  would  fall  in  with  the  most  general  use 
of  'that',  especially  beyond  the  limits  of  formal  composition. 

The  use  of  '  that'  solely  as  restrictive,  with  '  who'  arid  'which' 
solely  as  co-ordinating,  also  avoids  amoigiiitiesih&t  often  attend 
the  indiscriminate  use  of  '  who '  and  '  which '  for  co-ordinate 
and  for  restrictive  clauses.  Thus,  when  we  say,  '  his  conduct 
surprised  his  English  friends,  who  had  not  known  him  long ', 
we  may  mean  either  that  his  English  friends  generally  were 
surprised  (the  relative  being,  in  that  case,  coordinating),  or 
that  only  a  portion  of  them — namely,  the  particular  portion 
that  had  not  known  him  long — were  surprised.  In  this-  last 
case  the  relative  is  meant  to  define  or  explain  the  antecedent, 
and  the  doubt  would  be  removed  by  writing  thus :  '  his  English 
friends  that  had  not  known  him  long.'  So  in  the  following  sentence 
there  is  a  similar  ambiguity  in  the  use  of  '  which  ' :  '  the  next 
winter  which  you  will  spend  in  town  will  give  you  opportunities 
of  making  a  more  prudent  choice'.  This  may  mean,  either 
'you  will  spend  next  winter  in  town'  ('which' being  co-ordi- 
nating), or  '  the  next  of  the  winters  when  you  are  to  live  in 
town,'  let  that  come  when  it  may.  In  the  former  case  '  which ' 
is  the  proper  relative  ;  in  the  latter  case  the  meaning  is  restric- 
tive or  defining,  and  would  be  best  brought  out  by  '  that ' :  'the 
next  winter  that  you  will  spend  in  town  '. 

A  further  consideration  in  favour  of  employing  '  that '  for  ex- 
plicative clauses  is  the  unpleasant  effect  arising  from  the  too 
frequent  repetition  of  '  who  and  '  which '.  Grammarians  often 
recommend  '  that '  as  a  means  of  varying  the  style  ;  but  this 
end  ought  to  be  sought  in  subservience  to  the  stiU  greater  end 
'f  perspicuity. 


38  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PRONOUN. 

21.  What   and   its   compounds,    *  whatever'    and 
'  whatsoever  ',  apply  to  things. 

In  the  oldest  English  '  what '  was  interrogative  (§  14).  For 
the  regular  relative  use  in  application  to  things,  the  other 
relatives  were  sufficient,  and  '  what '  was  not  very  extensively 
employed.  Some  such  instances  as  these  might  be  cited  :  '  The 
matter  what  other  men  wrote',  'nothing  what  can  be  said 
against  me  ',  '  that  what  I  have  always  maintained '. 

The  transition  from  the  interrogative  form  to  such  examples 
.  as  the  following  is  easy  :  *  Look,  what  I  speak,  iny  life  shall 
prove  it  true';  '  what  he  bids,  tJiat  thou  shalt  do'.  The 
omission  of  the  demonstrative  then  gives  the  usual  form  : 
'  what  I  speak  my  life  shall  prove  true  '  ;  '  what  he  bids  thou 
shalt  do '.  Or,  in  natural  order  :  '  thou  shalt  do  what  he 
bids ' .  This  is  obviously  equal  to  '  thou  shalt  do  that  which 
(or  that}  he  bids  '  ;  and  hence  '  what '  is  commonly  described  as 
practically  a  compouttd  relative,  combining  as  it  were  both  rela- 
tive and  antecedent.  The  antecedent  is  regularly  suppressed, 
except  in  certain  inverted  forms. 

In  such  expressions  as  the  following,  '  what '  may  be  put  for 
'  that  which ',  and  is  generally  an  improvement :  '  In  certain 
cases  we  refrain  from  doing  that'  which  we  have  a  natural  desire 
to  do,  or  force  ourselves  to  do  that  to  which  we  feel  a 
repugnance  '. 

Substitutes  for  the  Proper  Relatives. 

22.  As,   preceded  by  SUCH  or  by  SAME,  has  the 
force  of  a  relative,  applying  to  both  persons  and  things, 
and   always  with  an  explicative  or  restrictive  signifi- 
cation. 

'The  curse  denounced  upon  such  as  removed  ancient  land- 
marks ' :  this  might  have  been  '  them  that ',  or  '  those  that ',  but 
not  so  properly  '  who '.  '  He  offered  me  the  same  conditions  as 
;he  offered  you  '  :  '  the  same  conditions  that '  would  be  equally 
.good  ;  '  the  same  conditions  which ',  though  common,  may  be 
•considered  inferior. 

The  true  relative  force  lies,  not  in  '  such '  and  '  same ',  but  in 
'as'.  By  the  14th  century  'as'  sometimes  took  the  place  of 
'  that '  in  the  ordinary  construction,  without  a  preceding  '  such ' 
or  '  same ' ;  but  this  usage  did  not  continue  in  favour  with 
writers,  though  it  is  still  familiar  in  provincial  and  vulgar 
English  :  '  the  man  as  (=  that)  rides  to  market '.  In  the 
oldest  English,  '  such '  was  followed  by  '  such '  (swilc  .  . 
swlc).  King  Alfred  used  'such  .  .  which*  (swelc  .  . 


SUBSTITUTES    FOR   THE    PKOPER   RELATIVES.  39 

In  the  12th  century  'such  .  .  as '  appears. 
Chaucer  has  'such  .  .  which'  and  'such  .  .  that':  'I 
shall  loven  such  that  I  will'.  'Who',  'which',  and  'that' 
after  'such'  were  especially  common  in  the  period  of  Queen 
Anne.  'Such  .  .  as'  has  ruled  since. 

The  form  'such  .  .  as '  is  a  convenient  substitute  for 
*  that ',  and  enables  us  to  vary  the  relative  construction  in  restric- 
tive clauses  without  loss  of  clearness.  It  has  the  further  advan- 
tage of  enabling  us  to  enclose,  ike  antecedent :  '  such  skill  as  he 
displayed.' 

*  As '  may  easily  be  replaced  by  *  which  '  in  certain  co-ordi- 
nating cases.     'The  ships  were  frozen  in,  as  not  unfrequently 
happens  in  these  regions  '  :  *  as '  is  here  very  much  the  same  as 
'  which '  in  the  reference  to  a  whole  clause  going  before.     The 
adverbial  sense  of '  as  *  is  more  prominent  in  this  application. 

23.  The   word  But  is  substantially  a   relative  in 
certain  constructions  ivliere  the  principal  clause,  has  a 
negative  force.     '  But '  is  always  restrictive. 

*  There  was  no  one  but  did  his  best '  is  equal  to  '  there  was 
no  one  that  did  not  (do)  his  best '.     '  Who  is  there  but  commits 
errors  ? '     '  Who  is  there  that  does  not  commit  errors  ? ' 

Earlier,  it  was  usual  to  insert  after  '  but '  the  appropriate 
demonstrative  pronoun  :  as  *  there  was  never  yet  fair  woman 
but  she  made  mouths  in  a  glass  '  ;  '  scarce  a  skull's  cast  up  but 
well  he  knew  its  owner '. 

24.  The  adverb  when  answers  the  purpose  of  the 
relative  (and  governing  preposition),  with  a  noun    of 
time   as   the   antecedent ;    as    '  the   good   news   from 
Ireland  reached  London  at  a  time  when  good  news  was 
needed '. 

It  is  also  usual  to  employ  'in  which '  for  the  same  meaning  ; 
but  in  cases  where  the  relative  clause  limits  or  defines,  '  that ' 
is  the  proper  relative,  and  we  can  say  '  the  very  day  that  he 
arrived '.  '  When  '  lias  not  always  the  explicative  meaning  ;  thus, 
'  the  day  of  trial  will  come,  when  all  will  be  different '  ;  '  in 
which '  would  here  be  the  correct  relative.  We  may  say, 
however,  that  'when*  is  perhaps  oftener  restrictive  than  co- 
ordinating. 

25.  Where  is  used  as  a  relative  when  the  antece- 
dent denotes  place ;  as  *  I  put  the  book  in  the  place 


40  PARTS   OF   SPEECH.— THE   PRONOUN. 

where  I  found  it ;  for  '  in  'which  I  found  it ',  or  t  that 
I  found  it  in  '. 

The  remarks  made  on  '  when  '  apply  to  '  where '.  It  may  be  a 
substitute  for  either  relative,  but  is  perhaps  more  commonly 
and  better  applied  when  th-j  restrictive  meaning  is  intended,  as 
in  the  above  instance.  '  Where'  takes  a  much  wider  range  than 
literal  place,  being  extended  to  the  many  metaphorical  applica- 
tions of  place  ;  as,  '  the  point  where  your  argument  fails  '. 

These  two  adverbial  relatives  are  of  great  use  in  varying  and 
lightening  composition,  which  is  always  liable  to  be  over- 
burdened with  the  common  relatives. 

26.  Whence  is  occasionally  used  as  a  relative  of 
place  :  '  he  returned   to  the  place   whence    he  came ', 
instead  of  'from  which  he  came ',  or  '  that  he  came 
from '. 

27.  Whither  is  used  in  like  manner  in  the  sense 
of  'to   a   place ' ;  as  'I  followed  him  to   the   house, 
whither  (  =  to  which)  he  had  gone  '. 

28.  Why  as  a  relative  is  always   restrictive,  and 
stands  for  '  on  account  of  which  ',  '  that  —  for '. 

'  There  was  no  reason  why  he  should  think  so, '  is  a  short  and 
elegant  way  of  saying  '  on  account  of  which  or  for  which  he 
should  think  so ',  or  '  that  he  should  think  so  (for)  '. 

'  Whence ',  '  whither ',  and  '  why '  are  of  less  general  application  than 

•  when '  and  '  where '.     They  are  more  confined  to  their  principal  use  as 
interrogative  adverbs.     As  relatives  they  are,  strictly  speaking,  the  equi- 
valents of  the  common  relatives  with  prepositions, '  from  which '  (whence), 
'  to  which '  (whither),  '  for  which '  (why). 

29.  The  compound  forms  'whoever',  'whoso', 
'  whosoever ',  '  whichever ',  *  whichsoever ',  '  whatever ', 
'whatsoever',  'whenever',  'whensoever',  'wherever', 
'wheresoever',  'whithersoever',  ' whencesoever ',  have 
a  certain  indefinite  meaning,  and  have  their  antecedents 
often  left  unexpressed  ;  thus,  '  whoever  is  found  wanting ', 
means   any  person  that  is  found ;    '  ichoso   is   wise ' 

' whatever   be   the   consequences,    I   dare   not    stay' 

*  wherever,  whithersoever  you  go '. 


THE   COMPOUND   RELATIVES.  41 

The  characteristic  meanings  of  these  words  are  more  closely 
allied  with  the  interrogative  meanings  of  '  who',  '  which ',  '  what', 
&c.,  than  with  their  meanings  as  relatives.  Thus  the  peculiar 
force  of  '  which  '  as  an  interrogative  is,  '  which  one  of  a  certain 
defined  number  or  class  ? '  and  this  is  the  meaning  of 
'  whichsoever '. 

30.  Further  examples  of  Relative  Construction, 
(See  also  Companion  to  the  Higher  Grammar,  pp. 
63-85). 

The  distinction  observed  by  our  idiomatic  writers  between 
*  that ',  on  the  one  hand,  and  '  who '  and  '  which  ',  on  the  other, 
although  for  the  present  very  much  lost  sight  of,  deserves  to  be 
revived,  both  for  the  perspicuity  and  lightness  of  the  composi- 
tion. The  following  examples  will  serve  further  to  illustrate 
the  distinction. 

1.  '  In  general,  Mr.  Burchell  was  fondest  of  the  company  of 
children,  whom  he  used  to  call  harmless  little  men.'  '  Whom  ' 
is  here  idiomatically  used,  being  the  equivalent  of  '  and  them,  he 
used  to  call ',  &c. 

'  Bacon  at  last,  a  mighty  man,  arose, 
Whom  a  wise  king  and  nation  chose 
Lord  Chancellor  of  both  their  laws.' 

Here  also  '  whom  '  is  equal  to  '  and  him  '. 

In  the  following  instance  the  relative  is  restrictive  or  defining, 
and  '  that '  would  be  preferable  :  '  the  conclusion  of  the  Iliad  is 
like  the  exit  of  a  great  man  out  of  company  whom  he  has 
entertained  magnificently '.  Compare  another  of  Addison's 
sentences  :  'a  man  of  polite  imagination  is  let  into  a  great  many 
pleasures  that  the  vulgar  are  not  capable  of  receiving  . 

Both  relatives  are  introduced  discriminatingly  in  this 
passage  : — 'She  had  learned  that  from  Mrs.  Wood,  who  had 
heard  it  from  her  husband,  who  had  heard  it  at  the  public- 
house  from  the  landlord,  who  had  been  let  into  the  secret  by 
the  boy  that  carried  the  beer  to  some  of  the  prisoners '. 

The  following  sentences  are  ambiguous  under  the  modern 
system  of  using  *  who  '  for  both  purposes  : — *  I  met  the  boat- 
man who  took  me  across  the  ferry '.  If  '  who  '  is  the  proper 
relative  here,  the  meaning  is  '  I  met  the  boatman,  and  he  took 
me  across  ',  it  being  supposed  that  the  boatman  is  known  and 
definite.  But  if  there  be  several  boatmen,  and  I  wish  to 
indicate  one  in  particular  by  the  circumstance  that  he  had  taken 
me  across  the  ferry,  I  should  use  *  that '.  '  The  youngest  boy 
who  has  learned  to  dance  is  James.'  This  means  either  'the 
youngest  boy  is  James,  and  he  has  learned  to  dance ',  or  '  of  the 


42  PABTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PKONOUN". 

boys,  the  youngest  that  has  learned  to  dance  is  James  '.     This 
last  sense  is  restrictive,  and  '  that '  should  be  used. 

2.  Turning  now  to  '  which  ',  we  may  have  a  series  of  parallel 
examples.     '  The  court,  which  gives  currency  to  manners,  should 
be  exemplary':  here  the  meaning  is  'the  court  should  be  exem- 
plary, for  the  court  gives  currency  to  manners '.     '  Which '  is 
the  idiomatic  relative  in  this  case.      '  The  cat,  which  you  despise 
so  much,  is  a  very  useful  animal.'      The  relative  here  also  is 
co-ordinating,  and  not  restrictive.     If  it  were  intended  to  point 
out  one  individual  cat  specially  despised  by  the  person  addressed, 
'  that '  would  convey  the  sense.     '  A  theory  which  does  not  tend 
to  the  improvement  of  practice  is  utterly  unworthy  of  regard.' 
The  meaning  is  restrictive  ;    '  a  theory  that  does  not  tend '. 
The  following  sentence  is  one  of  many  from   Goldsmith  that 
give  'that'  instead  of  'which': — 'age,  that  lessens  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life,  increases  our  desire  of  living'.      Thackeray  also 
was  fond  of  this  usage.     But  it  is  not  very  common. 

'  Their  faith  tended  to  make  them  improvident ;  but  a  wise 
instinct  taught  them  that  if  there  was  one  thing  which  ought 
not  to  be  left  to  fate,  or  to  the  precepts  of  a  deceased  prophet, 
it  was  the  artillery'  ;  a  case  where  '  that '  is  the  proper  relative. 

*  All  words,  which  are  signs  of  complex  ideas,  furnish  matter 
of  mistake.'  This  gives  an  erroneous  impression,  and  should 
be  '  all  words  that  are  signs  of  complex  ideas '. 

'  In  all  cases  of  prescription,  the  universal  practice  of  judges 
is  to  direct  juries  by  analogy  to  the  Statute  of  Limitations,  to 
decide  against  incorporeal  rights  which  have  for  many  years 
been  relinquished':  say  instead,  'incorporeal  rights  that  have 
for  many  years ',  and  the  sense  is  clear. 

3.  It  is  necessary  for  the  proper  understanding  of  '  which  '  to 
advert  to  its  peculiar  function  of  referring  to  a  whole  clause  as 
the  antecedent :  '  William  ran  along  the  top  of  the  wall,  which 
alarmed  his  mother  very  much '.     The  antecedent  is  obviously 
not  the  noun  '  wall ',  but  the  fact  expressed  by  the  entire  clause 
— '  William  ran ',  &c.      '  He  by  no  means  wants  sense,  which 
only  serves  to  aggravate  his  former  folly  ' ;  namely,  (not  '  sense  ', 
but)  the  circumstance  '  that  he  does  not  want  sense '.     '  He  is 
neither  over-exalted  by  prosperity,  nor  too  much  depressed  by 
misfortune  ;  which  you  must  allow  marks  a  great  mind.'      '  We 
have  done  many  things  which  we  ought  not  to  have  done  ', 
might  mean  '  we  ought  not  to  have  done  many  things' ;  that  is, 
'we  ought  to  have  done  few  things'.      'That'  would  ghe  the 
exact  sense   intended  :    '  we  have   done   many  things   that  we 
ought  not  to  have  done '.      '  He  began  to  look  after  his  affairs 
himself,  which  was  the  way  to  make  them  prosper. ' 

.  4.  We  must  next  allude  to  the  cases  where  the  relative  is 


VARIETIES   OF   RELATIVE    CONSTRUCTION.  43 

governed  by  a  preposition.  "We  can  use  a  preposition  before 
'who  'and  'which',  but  when  the  relative  is  'that',  the  pre- 
position must  be  thrown  to  the  end  of  the  clause.  Owing  to 
an  imperfect  appreciation  of  the  genius  of  our  language,  offence 
'was  taken  at  this  usage  by  some  of  our  leading  writers  at  the 
beginning  of  last  century,  and  to  this  circumstance  we  must 
refer  the  disuse  of  'that'  as  the  relative  of  restriction.* 

*  Speaking  of  Dryden,  Hallam  says,  '  His  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesy,  pub- 
lished in  1668,  was  reprinted  sixteen  years  afterwards,  and  it  is  curious 
to  observe  the  changes  which  Dryden  made  in  the  expression.  Malone 
has  carefully  noted  all  these  ;  they  show  both  the  care  the  author  took 
with  his  own  style,  and  the  change  which  was  gradually  working  in  the 
English  language.  The  Anglicism  of  terminating  the  sentence  with  a 
preposition  is  rejected.  Thus,  "  I  cannot  think  so  contemptibly  of  the 
age  I  live  in,"  is  exchanged  for  "the  age  in  which  I  live".  "A  deeper 
expression  of  belief  than  all  the  actor  can  persuade  us  to,"  is  altered, 
"  can  insinuate  into  us  ".  And,  though  the  old  form  continued  in  use 
long  after  the  time  of  Dryden,  it  has  of  late  years  been  reckoned  inele- 
gant, and  proscribed  in  all  cases,  perhaps  with  an  unnecessary  fastidious- 
ness, to  which  I  have  not  uniformly  deferred,  since  our  language  is  of 
Teutonic  structure,  and  the  rules  of  Latin  and  French  grammar  are  not 
always  to  bind  us.' 

On  the  same  subject  Dr.  Campbell  remarks  :—  '  Now  that  I  am  on  the 
subject  of  the  prepositions,  it  will  not  be  improper  to  consider  a  peculi- 
arity which  is  often  to  be  found  with  us  in  their  arrangement.  In  every 
other  language  the  preposition  is  almost  constantly  prefixed  to  the  noun 
which  it  governs  ;  in  English  it  is  sometimes  placed  not  only  after  the 
noun,  but  at  a  considerable  distance  from  it,  as  in  the  following  example  : 
"  The  infirmary  was,  indeed,  never  so  full  as  on  this  day,  which  I  was  at 
some  loss  to  account  /or,  till  upon  my  going  abroad  I  observed  it  was  an 
easterly  wind."  Here  no  fewer  than  seven  words  intervene  between  the 
relative  which  and  the  preposition  for  belonging  to  it.  Besides,  the  pre- 
position doth  not  here  precede  its  regimen,  but  follows  it.  One  would 
imagine,  to  consider  the  matter  abstractly,  that  this  could  not  fail  in  a 
like  ours,  which  admits  so  few  inflections,  to  create  obscurity. 


Yet  this,  in  fact,  is  seldom  or  never  the  consequence.  Indeed  the  singu- 
larity of  the  idiom  hath  made  some  critics  condemn  it  absolutely.  That 
there  is  nothing  analogous  in  any  known  tongue,  ancient  or  modern,  hath 
appeared  to  them  a  sufficient  reason.  I  own  it  never  appeared  so  to  me.' 
—Rhetoric,  Book  III.,  Chap.  4. 

The  following  examples,  taken  from  Massinger's  Grand  Duke  of  Florence, 
will  show  what  was  the  usage  of  the  Elizabethan  writers  :  — 

'  For  I  must  use  the  freedom  /  was  born  with.' 
'  In  that  dumb  rhetoric  which  you  make  use  of.' 

'  -  if  I  had  been  heir 
Of  all  the  globes  and  sceptres  mankind  bows  to.' 

'  -  the  name  of  friend 
Which  you  are  pleased  to  grace  me  with.  ' 

'  -  wilfully  ignorant  in  my  opinion 
Of  what  it  did  invite  him  to.' 
'  I  look  to  her  as  on  a  princess 
/  dare  not  be  ambitious  of.' 

'  -  a  duty 
Tliat  I  was  born  with,' 


44 


PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PRONOUN. 


'It  is  curious  that  the  only  circumstance  connected  with 
Scott,  and  related  by  Lockhart,  of  which  I  was  a  witness,  is 
incorrectly  stated  in  the  Life  of  Sir  Walter'.  (Leslie's 
Memoirs.)  The  relative  should  be  restrictive:  'that  I  was  * 
witness  of'. 

'There  are  many  words  ivhich  are  adjectives  which  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  qualities  of  the  nouns  to  which  they  are 
put. '  (Cobbett)  Better  :  '  there  are  many  \yords  that  are  adjec- 
tives that  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  qualities  of  the  nouns 
(that)  they  are  put  to '. 

'  Other  objects,  of  which  we  have  not  occasion  to  speak  so 
frequently,  we  do  not  designate  by  a  name  of  their  own.' 
This,  if  amended,  would  be  :  '  other  objects  that  we  have  not 
occasion  to  speak  of  so  frequently,  we  do  not ',  &c. 

'  Sorrow  for  the  dead  is  the  only  sorrow  from  ivhich  we  refuse 
to  be  divorced  ; '  '  the  only  sorrow  (that)  we  refuse  to  be  divorced 
from '. 

'  Why,  there  is  not  a  single  sentence  in  this  play  that  I  do 
not  know  the  meaning  of.'  (Addison.) 

'  Originality  is  a  thing  we  constantly  clamour  for,  and  con- 
stantly quarrel  with.'  (Carlyle.) 

5.  '  Whose '  although  the  possessive  of  '  who ',  and  practically 
of  '  which ',  is  yet  frequently  employed  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
striction. : 

'  He  spoke  of  love,  such  love  as  spirits  feel, 
In  worlds  whose  course  is  equable  and  pure.' 

This  is  not  felt  to  be  so  great  a  departure  from  idiom  as  the 
prepositional  forms  *  of  whom  ',  '  of  which '  are,  when  used  to 
define  or  restrict  the  subject. 

'  We  are  the  more  likely  to  guard  watchfully  against  those 
faults  whose  deformity  we  have  seen  fully  displayed  in  others.' 
This  is  better  than  '  the  deformity  of  which  we  have  seen '. 

'  Propositions  of  whose  truth  we  have  no  certain  knowledge. ' 
(Locke.) 

6.  'Where',  audits  compounds  — 'wherein',  'whereof,  &c., 
are  substitutes  for  both  relatives.     They  may  therefore  be  used 
instead  of  '  that ',  without  the  misleading  effect   of   '  which '. 
The  following  are  examples  : — '  the  happiest  condition  of  society 
is  (that)  where  the  greatest  number  of  persons  is  (should  be  are) 
found  possessing  a  moderate  yet   sufficient  subsistence ';    *  I 

' must  supply  me 

With  all  /  am  defective  in.' 

' a  copious  theme 

Which  would,  discoursed  at  large  of,  make  a  volume.' 
So  in  Sbakspeare,  to  take  an  example  out  of  many  : — 

•  To  have  no  screen  between  the  part  he  played 
And  him  he  played  it  for.' 


VARIETIES   OF   RELATIVE   CONSTRUCTION.  45 

know  of  no  rule  whereby  it  may  be  done ';  '  they  (great  virtues) 
often  save,  and  always  illustrate  the  age  and  nation  in  which 
(wherein]  they  appear';  for  'the  age  and  nation  that  they 
appear  in '. 

7.  'Such  as'  is  restrictive,  and  is  a  convenient   mode   of 
varying  the  relative  construction  :  '  Eat  such  things  as  are  set 
before  you '.     '  Whittield's  preaching  was  such  as  England  had 
never  heard  before.' 

'  Hard  fare  !  but  such  as  boyish  appetite 
Disdains  not,  nor  the  palate,  undepraved 
By  culinary  arts,  unsavoury  deems.'  (Cowper.) 

8.  '  What ',  the  equivalent  of  '  the— that ',  '  that  which ',  has 
the  advantage  of  taking  a  preposition  :  *  ruin  seemed  impending 
and  inevitable,  though  no  one  could  tell  in  what  it  would  first 
show  itself ',  or  '  what  it  would  first  show  itself  in '. 

'  What  in  me  is  dark, 
Illumine  ;  what  is  low,  raise  and  support.' 

*  It  is  probable  that  any  attempt  to  establish  a  different  classi- 
fication of  the  parts  of  speech,  from  that  which  (what)  is 
commonly  received,  will  be  found  of  little  utility.' 

9.  We  have  also  seen  that  a  clause  in  participial  adjection 
may  have  a  restrictive  force  :  '  a  truth  long  forgotten  may  have 
to  be  rediscovered '.     '  What  man  among  you,  having  a  hundred 
sheep,'  equal  to  'that  has'.      'We  give  the  papers  showing  (for 
'  that  show ')  the  concord  existing  between  the  four  Powers  at 
the  time  when  England  and  France  were  engaging  in  a  separate 
course  of  action '  (Kiuglake).      '  But  it   would   be  absurd  to 
expect  mercy,  justice,  or  wisdom  from  a  class  of  men  first  abased 
by  many  years  of  oppression,  and  then  maddened  by  the  joy 
of   sudden  deliverance,   and    armed  with    irresistible   power ' 
(Macaulay). 

10.  In  the  following  examples  we  shall  avail  ourselves,  as 
may  seem  fit,  of  all  the  foregoing  devices,  with  a  view  to  amend- 
ing the  relative  construction. 

'  There  are  one  or  two  objections  which  have  been  brought 
against  the  study  of  political  economy,  which  it  may  be  useful 
to  notice,'  may  be  amended  thus:  'there  are  one  or  two  ob- 
jections (that  have  been)  brought  against  the  study  of  political 
economy,  which  (and  these)  it  may  be  useful  to  notice  ';  '  it  may 
be  useful  to  notice  one  or  two  objections  brought  against  the 
study  of  political  economy  '. 

'There  are  two  objections,  however,  by  which  (whereby)  its 
justness  may  be  possibly  controverted.' 

'A  spirit  more  amiable,  but  less  vigorous,  than  Luther's 
would  have  shrunk  back  from  the  dangers  which  he  braved  and 
surmounted;'  'that  he  braved';  'the  dangers  braved  and 
surmounted  by  him '. 


46  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PRONOUN. 

1  Nor  is  it  at  all  improbable  that  the  emigrants  had  been  guilty 
of  those  faults  from,  which,  civilised  men  who  settle  among  an 
uncivilised  people  are  rarely  free '  (Macaulay).  '  Nor  is  it  at  all 
improbable  that  the  emigrants  had  been  guilty  of  the  faults 
that  (such  faults  as)  civilised  men  that  settle  (settling,  or  settled} 
among  an  uncivilised  people  are  rarely  free  from.' 

11.  The  form  'those  who '  applied  in  a  restrictive  sense  is  the 
modern  substitute  for  the  ancient  idiom  '  they  that ',  an  idiom 
in  accordance  with  the  true  meaning  ot   'that'.     '  They  that 
told  me  the  story,  said';   'blessed  are  they  that  mourn';   'and 
Simon  and  they  that  were  with  him ';   '  I  love  them  that  love  me, 
and  they  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me ';  'they  that  are  whole 
have  no  need  of  a  physician';  'how  sweet  is  the  rest  of  them 
that  labour  ! '  '  I  cannot  tell  who  to  compare  them  to  so  fitly  as 
to  them  that 'pick,  pockets  in  the  presence  of  the  judge';  'they 
that  enter  into  the  state  of  marriage  cast  a  die  of  the  greatest 
contingency '  (J.  Taylor). 

'  That  man  hath  perfect  blessedness 

Who  walketh  not  astray, ' 

if  expressed  according  to  the  old  idiom  would  be,   'the  man 
hath—  that  walketh'. 

'  That ',  '  those ',  as  demonstrative  adjectives  refer  backward, 
and  are  not  therefore  well  suited  for  the  forward  reference  im- 
plied in  making  use  of  '  that  which  ',  '  those  who  '  as  restrictive 
relatives.  It  is  also  very  cumbrous  to  say  '  that  case  to  which 
you  allude ',  for  '  the  case  (that)  you  allude  to '. 

12.  Take  now  the  following :— '  the  Duke  of  Wellington  is 
not  one  of  those  who  interferes  with  matters  over  which  he  has 
no  control';  'the  Duke  is  not  one  of  them  that  interfere  in 
matters  that  they  have  no  control  over  (matters  that  they  cannot 
control,  beyond  their  control,  out  of  their  province} '.     If  '  them 
that '  sounds  too  antiquated,  we  may  adopt  as  a  convenient  com- 
promise, 'the  Duke  is  not  one  of  those  that'-,  or  'the  Duke  is 
not  one  to  interfere  in  matters  out  of  his  province ';   '  the  Duke 
is  not  one  that  interferes  with  what  he  has  no  control  over '. 

13.  '  Prejudices  are  notions  or  opinions  which  the  mind  enter- 
tains without  knowing  the  grounds  and  reasons  of  them,  and 
which  are  assented  to  without  examination '  (Berkeley).     The 
'  which '  in  both  cases  should  be  '  that ',  but  the  relative  may 
be  entirely  dispensed  with  by  participial  conversion  :  '  prejudices 
are  notions  or  opinions  entertained  by  the  mind  without  know- 
ing the  grounds  and  reasons  of  them,  and  assented  to  without 
examination '. 

'The  political  and  moral  system  of  Mahomet  is  that  which 
(what,  such  as)  might  be  expected  from  one  who  aimed  (aiming} 
only  at  personal  aggrandisement,  and  who  had  (having)  no 
generous  views  beyond. ' 


SAVING  THE   REPETITION    OF   THE   NOUN.  47 

'  He  who  thinks  that  sovereign  power  is  too  great,  and  would 
desire  to  limit  it,  can  do  so  only  by  setting  up  a  greater '  ;  '  he 
that,  thinking  sovereign  power  too  great,  desires '. 

14.  The  too  frequent  repetition  of  'who'  and  'which'  may 
be  avoided  by  resolving  them  into  the  conjunction  and  personal 
or  other  pronoun  :  '  In  such  circumstances,  the  utmost  that 
Bosquet  could  be  expected  to  do  was  to  hold  his  ground,  (which) 
and  this  he  did '. 

31.  One  of  the  uses  of  Pronouns  is  to  save  the 
repetition  of  a  Noun;  as  'John  is  come;  he  has 
not  been  long '. 

This  may  be  effected  by  various  other  means. 

(1.)  By  some  more  general  designation ;  as  in  Milton  :  '  Thus 
spoke  the  tempter,  the  fiend',  for  Satan.  'We  went  to  see  St. 
Paul's,  and  admired  the  vast  building.' 

Such  general  words  are  often  advantageously  combined  with 
the  relative  :  '  touching  musical  harmony,  a  thing  that  (equal  to 
'  which ')  delighteth  all  ages  ;  a  thing  as  seasonable  in  joy  as  in 
grief ; '  '  he  was  naturally  morose,  a  peculiarity  that  1  do  not 
here  take  into  account'.  Also  the  relative  may  be  dispensed 
with  :  '  the  nation  were  unanimous,  a  thing  (  a  circumstance)  of 
rare  occurrence '. 

(2.)  By  the  use  of  synonymes.  '  His  happiness  was  much 
enhanced  by  his  success  ;  but  it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  so 
great  bliss  to  last. ' 

Under  the  adjective  we  shall  see  other  modes  of  saving  the 
repetition  of  the  principal  subject,  as  by  'former  and  latter,'  'the 
one  and  the  other,'  '  the  first  and  the  second,'  &c. 

It  is  a  very  insufficient  definition  of  the  pronoun  to  say  that 
it  saves  the  repetition  of  the  noun,  being  wholly  inapplicable  to 
interrogatives,  and  to  the  indefinite  pronouns.  The  relative 
pronouns,  moreover,  have  in  addition  the  force  of  conjunctions  ; 
and,  as  we  have  just  seen,  the  use  of  the  pronoun  is  not  the 
sole  means  of  avoiding  the  repetition  of  the  noun. 


THE  ADJECTIVE. 
Definition. 

I.  An  Adjective  is  a  word  joined  to  a  noun 
to  limit  its  application;  as  'my  hat;'  '  a  sweat- 
sound  '. 


48  PARTS   OF  SPEECH. — THE  ADJECTIVE. 

Adjectives  are  commonly  said  to  name  a  quality.  But  this 
can  hardly  apply  to  pronominal  adjectives,  as  'this,'  'our'. 
Moreover  in  the  classification  of  adjectives,  one  class  is  those  of 
quality  ;  implying  that  the  other  classes,  namely,  adjectives  of 
quantity  and  the  pronominal  adjectives,  are  not  expressive  of 
quality.  It  is  better  to  treat  them  as  words  that  go  along  with 
nouns  to  specify  or  narrow  their  application.  For  example,  the 
word  '  wise  '  joined  to  the  noun  '  man,'  signifies  a  more  select 
kind  of  man,  having  the  distinguishing  attribute  termed 
wisdom.  Thus  while  the  extent  of  the  noun  is  narrowed,  its 
meaning  is  increased  by  the  adjective  :  *  wise  men  '  are  a  smaller 
class  than  '  men ',  but  they  have  one  attribute  in  addition  to 
what  is  common  to  men. 

2.  An   Adjective   is  distinguished  from   a 
noun  by  its  inflexion,  which  is  for  degree,  or  what 
is  called  Comparison  :  '  wise,  wiser,  wisest ';  '  fertile, 
more  fertile,  most  fertile '. 

In  our  language,  which  admits  the  easy  convertibility  of  the 
parts  of  speech,  nouns  are  often  used  to  discharge  the  office  of 
the  adjective  ;  as  '  the  gold  ring  '.  These  nouns  are  distinguished 
from  true  adjectives  by  not  being  compared  :  we  cannot  say 
'  gold,  golder,  goldest '.  On  the  other  hand,  the  true  gram- 
matical adjective  does  not  undergo  the  noun  inflexion  :  we  do 
not  say  '  wise,  (plural]  vrises. '  By  the  same  criterion  we  can 
distinguish  an  adjective  from  a  verb  used  to  limit  a  noun  ;  as  '  a 
brew  house '. 

It  follows  from  the  definition,  that  an  adjective  cannot  be  the 
subject  of  a  sentence.  We  cannot  say  '  wise  is  good  '.  A  word 
that  merely  limits  can  have  no  meaning  standing  alone,  or  with- 
out a  word  to  limit.  Such  cases  as  'foul  is  fair ',  '  black  is  not 
white',  are  not  exceptions;  the  adjective  being  used  for  the 
corresponding  abstract  noun.  Hence  when  a  sentence  or  clause 
begins  with  an  adjective  we  understand  that  there  is  an  inver- 
sion of  the  usual  order  ;  as  '  great  was  the  fall  thereof '. 

An  adjective  cannot  qualify  any  part  of  speech  but  a  noun. 
It  cannot  be  governed  by  a  preposition. 

Classes  of  Adjectives. 

3.  I.  Pronominal   Adjectives.      These  are  of 
four    kinds — Demonstrative,    Interrogative,    Relative, 
and  Possessive. 

The  name  *  pronominal '  indicates  that  these  adjectives  (this, 


PRONOMINAL    ADJECTIVES.  49 

my,  &c.}  are  all  derived  from  pronouns.  Indeed  they  have  often 
been  included  among  the  pronouns.  The  reason  for  placing 
them  among  adjectives  is  that  they  require  a  noun  after  them, 
which  the  proper  pronouns  do  not. 

4.  1.  Pronominal  Demonstrative  Adjec- 
tives :  'this',  'that',  'the',  'yon',  'yonder',  'such'. 

This  (plural  '  these ')  applies  to  persons  and  things, 
and  means  some  object  near  or  close  at  hand,  or  nearer 
than  some  other  compared  object :  '  this  man',  some 
one  close  by ;  '  this  house',  the  house  that  we  are  in  or 
near  ;  '  this  is  my  own,  my  native  land  '. 

4  This'  was  originally  the  form  joined  to  neuter  nouns. 

In  a  succession  of  things,  'this'  means  the  nearest — either 
the  last  said,  or  the  next  to  be  mentioned.  '  After  this  speech  ' 
refers  to  what  has  just  been,  or  is  just  going  to  be,  delivered:  '  I 
will  put  this  supposition  '  is  what  is  to  come  next. 

That  (plural  '  those ')  applies  also  to  persons  and 
things,  and  means  something  at  a  distance.  '  That 
man  '  is  some  one  not  close  by,  '  This '  and  '  that '  are 
correlative  or  contrasting  words ;  the  one  excludes  or 
opposes  the  other. 

'  That '  was  originally  the  neuter  form  of  the  adjective. 
When  two  persons,  things,  01  facts  have  teen  mentioned,  the 
first  in  order  is  sometimes  recalled  by  '  that,'  the  second  by  'this,' 
in  imitation  of  the  Latin  pronouns  ille  and  hie.     Other  forms 
for  the  same  purpose  are  '  the  one  '  and  '  the  other',    '  the  first' . 
and  'the  second',  '  the  first  named  '  and  '  the  last  named',  'the 
former '  and  '  the  latter '.     Sometimes,  as  in  the  second  of  the 
following  lines,  '  these  '  and  '  those  '  mean  '  some  '  and  'others', 
with  merely  subordinate  reference  to  comparative  proximity  : 

'  Fortune  her  gifts  may  variously  dispose, 
And  these  be  happy  called,  unhappy  those  ; 
But  Heaven's  just  balance  equal  will  appear. 
While  those  are  placed  in  hope,  and  these  in  fear.' 

The  frequent  ellipsis  of  the  noun  with  the  demonstrative 
adjectives  gives  them  the  character  of  demonstrative  pronouns  : 
'  after  that,  I  shall  say  no  more  '  ;  '  this  being  granted  '.  These 
adjectives  also  often  help  to  save  the  repetition  of  the  main 
subject,  by  being  joined  to  a  more  general  noun.  Thus,  instead 
of  repeating  the  name  '  Csesar ',  we  may  designate  him  '  that 
general  '.  '  that  Roman  ',  *  that  conqueror '. 


50  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE    ADJECTIVE. 

The,  a  modification  of  'that',  is  commonly  called 
tho  Definite  Article.  It  is  usually  explained  along 
with  *  a '  or  *  an',  called  the  Indefinite  Article. 

Yoil  and  yonder  are  chiefly  applied  to  things  at 
some  distance  :  *  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower'. 

The  form  '  yond  '  is  now  dropt :  '  yond  star  that's  westward 
from  the  pole  '  (Hamlet). 

Compare  the  Genoau./ener  ('  that '). 

Such  is  partly  demonstrative,  having  a  reference 
also  to  quality  and  quantity.  '  Such  toil  in  such  an 
atmosphere  was  too  much  for  them. ' 

*  Such '  is  the  modern  form  of  the  old  *  surilc  ',=  sun-lie,  '  so- 
like',  Mike  that'. 

Compare  the  German  solch. 

5.  The  adverbial  substitutes  for  the   De- 
monstrative Adjectives  are  the  same  as  for  the 
Demonstrative  Pronouns :  'so1,  'thus',  'then',  'there', 
(and  the  compounds,  '  herein',  therein',  &e.),  '  hence', 
'thence',  'hither',  'thither'.   These  substitutes  cannot 
he  used  where  nominatives  are  required.     '  Here,  there, 
lies,'  are  equivalent  to  '  in  this  place ',  '  in  that  place '. 

Both  variety  and  eiegance  are  attained  by  the  employment  of 
these  adverbs  as  demonstratives.  The  remarks  made  respecting 
'where',  'when',  &c.,  as  equivalents  of  the  relative  pronouns, 
are  applicable  to  the  present  class  of  words  :  '  here  is  the  point '; 
'  there's  the  rub ' ;  '  herein  is  love  ' ;  '  then  was  the  time  '. 

6.  2.  Pronominal  Interrogative  Adjectives : 

'  what ',  '  which ',  '  whether ',  and  compounds. 

What  applies  to  both  persons  and  things:  'what 
man  1 '  ' what  woman ? '  ' what  country  1 '  'I  see  what 
friends  arid  read  what  books  I.  please.' 

'What'  was  originally  a  neuter  pronoun.  By  the  13th  cen- 
tury it  had  come  to  be  used  adjectively  with  nouns  of  all  genders. 

Which  is  used  similarly:  'which  man,  or  men1?' 
'ivhich  woman,  or  women?'  'which  country  or  count- 
ries 1 ' 


PRONOMINAL   ADJECTIVES.  51 

In  its  earlier  use,  « which ',  like  'such/  implied  also  quality 
and  quantity. 

Whether  is  now  disused:  'whether  case  is  the 
better  V 

7.  3.  Pronominal      Relative      Adjectives : 

*  which ',  '  what ',  and  compounds. 

Which  applies  to  all  genders  and  both  numbers: 
'  Here  we  were  met  by  the  lieutenant,  which  officer  was 
to  show  us  over  the  ship ';  *  the  army  refused  to  march, 
which  circumstance  disconcerted  all  his  plans'. 

Various  substitutions  are  generally  preferred  :  '  we  were  met 
by  the  lieutenant,  who  was,  &c.',  or,  'an  officer  that  was'  ;  'the 
army  lefused  to  march,  which — a  circumstance  that — and  this — 
disconcerted  all  his  plans '. 

What  is  used  in  much  the  same  way  :  'what  friends 
he  gained  he  kept';  lwhat  time  the  floods  lift  up  their 
voice ';  *  you  may  take  whatever  books  you  choose '. 

8.  4.  Pronominal    Possessive    Adjectives: 

'my',  'mine',  'our',  'ours',  'thy',  'thine',  'your', 
'yours',  'his',  'her',  'hers',  'its',  *  their',  'theirs'. 
These  are  the  possessives  of  the  Personal  and  Demon- 
strative Pronouns. 

The  double  forms  'my,  mine',  'our,  ours',  'thy,  thine', 
'your,  yours-',  'her,  hers',  'their,  theirs',  have  distinct  uses. 
The  first  form  is  used  with  nouns  like  any  other  adjectives,  as. 
' my  book';  'your  house';  'tfieir  liberty';  the  other  form  is: 
employed  in  predication,  and  in  other  cases  where  the  noun  does 
not  immediately  follow  ;  as  'the  book  is  mine'',  'the  house  is 
not  yours';  'that  is  your  opinion,  mine  is  very  different'.  In 
the  translation  of  the  Bible,  '  thine '  and  '  mine '  are  used  with 
nouns  beginning  with  a  vowel  or  with  '  h '  :  '  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation';  'mine  honour',  &c.  A  similar  difference 
exists  between  '  none '  and  '  no ';  as  '  Thy  kingdom  hath  none 
end  at  all';  'friend  hast  thou  none';  'he  gave  no  reason;  in 
truth,  none  can  be  given '. 

The  meanings  of  the  possessive  pronouns  are  so  well  under- 
stood and  so  little  subject  to  irregularity,  as  to  need  no  special 
comment. 


52  PARTS    OF    SPEECH. — THE   ADJECTIVE. 

9.  II.  Adjectives  of  Quantity. 

Setting  aside  the  pronominal  adjectives,  we  may  include  all 
the  others  under  the  two  heads  of  quantity  and  quality  :  those 
of  the  one  class  (quantity)  are  few  in  number  and  peculiar  in 
character ;  the  other  class  (quality)  comprises  the  great  body 
of  adjectives.  The  adjectives  of  quantity  are  subdivided  as 
follows  : — 

10.  1.  Adjectives  of  Quantity  in  mass  or 
bulk:  '  much ',  '  little ',  '  great ',  '  small ',  'some', '  any ': 
'much  wind';  'little  light';  l  great  rivers';  'some  feeling'. 
These  are  all  indefinite. 

This  kind  of  quantity  is  also  called  continuous  quantity,  and 
is  opposed  to  broken,  numbered,  or  discrete  quantity.  Space, 
'motion,  bulk,  and  material  being  in  many  instances  unbroken, 
;we  do  not  always  apply  numbers  to  designate  their  amount. 
When  we  desire  accuracy  we  suppose  these  things  divided  into 
'parts,  and  number  the  parts  ;  as  '  ten  yards '.  But  where  we 
.cannot  do  this,  as  in  mental  qualities,  we  use  adjectives  of 
degree,  and  apply  qualifying  words  to  specify  the  differences ; 
•thus,  'small,  very  small,  exceedingly  small,  diminutive,  insig- 
nificant'; 'great,  large,  somewhat  large,  rather  large,  consider- 
•able,  vast,  huge,  immense,  enormous,  infinite';  *  middling, 
'average,  moderate,  ordinary,  sober',  &c. 

'  Some '  and  '  any '  are  applied  alsc  to  number. 

11.  2.  Adjectives  of  Quantity  in   Number. 

Under  this  we  have  various  kinds. 

(1.)  Definite  Numeral  Adjectives;  as  'eight 
days '  (cardinal  number) ;  *  the  eighth  day '  (ordinal 
number). 

The  cardinal  numbers — one,  two,  three — denote  totals  made 
up  to  the  amount  of  the  number-  two,  five,  fifty,  &c.  The 
ordinal  numbers  indicate  a  series,  and  state  the  place  of  an 
individual  in  the  series  :  the  '  fifth '  marks  one  object  at  a 
'certain  remove  from  the  commencement. 

We  may  include  also  the  multipliers,  'single',  'double', 
*  twofold ',  '  triple ',  '  threefold ',  '  quadruple ',  &c. ;  and  the 
combination  of  the  numerals  with  particular  subjects,  as  (bi- 
ennial',  * quadrilateral',  'heptagons!'.  These  have  also  the 
meaning  of  quality. 

An,  or  a,  the  Indefinite  Article,  is  the  numeral 
Adjective  '  one ',  with  a  somewhat  altered  signification.  - 


ADJECTIVES    OF   QUANTITY.  53* 

None,  No,  expresses  the  absence,  negation,  or 
privation  of  anything. 

'None'  is  the  old  English  'nan',  made  up  of  ne+an  ('not 
one  '),  and  '  no  '  is  a  shortened  form,  like  '  a '  from  '  an '. 

The.,  words  must  be  followed  by  the  singular  or  plural, 
according  to  the  meaning.  An  ancient  Greek  disbelieving  his 
religion  would  have  said  there  are  '  no  Gods ';  a  Jew,  there  is 
'no  God'.  In  the  union  with  plural  nouns,  the  derl.ution  of 
4  none,  no  '  is  forgotten.  So  the  common  expression  -  no  one ' 
is,  in  this  regard,  tautological,  being  literally  '  not  one  one '. 

Another  is  ' an-other\  'a  second',  'one  more',  in 
addition  to  whatever  number  has  gone  before. 

In  old  English,  '  other '  was  used  as  an  ordinal  where  we  now 
use  '  second '. 

A  derived  meaning  of  '  another '  implies  the  sense  of  differ- 
ence :  '  that  is  another  (=  a,  different]  question '. 

Both  means  two  taken  together,  and  is  opposed  to 
the  distributives  '  either '  (one  of  two),  and  '  neither ', 
(none  of  two). 

This  word,  being  often  used  without  the  noun,  assumes  the 
character  of  a  pronoun. 

12.  (2.)  Indefinite  Numeral  Adjectives;  as, 
'many  days',  lany  books',  'all  men'.  These  express 
number,  but  not  in  the  definite  form  of  numeration. 

Many,  although  plural  in  meaning,  can  be  joined'' 
with  a  singular  noun  preceded  by  '  a':  'many  a  man'. 
This  usage  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the  13th  century. 

Any — old  English  'cenig',  from  'an'  ('one') — 
means  '  one ',  but  no  one  in  particular :  '  any  knife  will 
do '.  It  was  early  applied  to  plural  nouns  also  :  '  any 
trees ',  *  any  men ',  it  matters  not  which,  nor  how  many. 

After  negative  words  '  any '  renders  the  exclusive  sense  em- 
phatic :  'without  any  remainder',  'not  any  doubt'.  The 
application  to  mass  or  bulk  has  been  already  mentioned  (§  10) :. 
'  any  meat ',  '  any  wool '. 

The  old  negative  '  nceniy '  (ne-aenig).  disappeared  in  the  thir- 
teenth century.  '"None  '  and  '  not  any  '  take  its  place. 


54  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   ADJECTIVE. 

An,  a,  while  indicating  definitely  one  individual 
and  no  more,  means  no  one  in  particular.  Hence  it  is 
called  the  Indefinite  article. 

Some  indicates  one  individual  not  particularise  1, 
or  denotes  an  uncertain  portion  of  an  entire  class  or 
number  :  '  Some  enemy  has  done  this f;  *  give  him  some 
apples '. 

'Some'  has  various  meanings.  In  strict  logic  it  signifies 
*  not  none ',  a  certain  number,  but  how  many  not  stated — some 
at  least.  There  is  a  more  popular  meaning,  which  implies  less 
than  the  whole,  'some  only  ,  or  'some  at  most'.  ' Some  men 
•are  wise  '  insinuates  that  there  are  other  men  not  wise.  Hence 
the  alternative  signification :  '  some  believed ',  and  '  some  (others) 
helieved  not '.  '  Some  fifty  years  ago  '  is  a  very  old  idiom  for 
expressing  an  approximate  number. 

The  application  to  mass  or  bulk  has  been  already  mentioned 
(§10):  'wwewood',  '  some  mischief '. 

Certain  is  a  small  select  number.  Applied  in  the 
singular  it  means  a  particular  and  known  individual 

Several,  the  Distributive  Adjective,  is  also  used  to 
mean  a  small  number  without  reference  to  distribution  : 
'he  entered  with  several  followers';  'several  of  the 
palace  towers  were  toppled  to  the  earth '. 

Sundry  and  divers,  also  originally  meaning  *  separate', 
are  now  less  frequently  used  to  signify  a  small  and  indefinite 
number:  'for  sundry  weighty  reasons';  '  divers  townspeople '. 
'  Compare  also  different  and  various :  '  for  various  (or  dif- 
ferent} reasons'. 

Few  is  opposed  to  '  many '.  '  Few,  few,  shall  part 
where  many  meet.'  'A  ^few '  is  some — not  many. 

Not  a  few  is  a  more  emphatic  '  many ';  the  denying  of  an 
opposite  being  often  a  stronger  form  of  the  affirmative.  '  Not 
inconsiderable '  is  perhaps  a  little  less  than  'considerable'. 

Most,  the  largest  number. 

All  is  opposed  alike  to  'none'  and  to  'some'. 

Whole,  'or  total',  is  opposed  to  'part',  and  hence 
to  '  some '. 


NUMERALS,    INDEFINITE   AND   DISTRIBUTIVE.          55 

13.   (3.)   Distributive   Numeral   Adjectives; 

as   '  each   man  ',    '  neither  way  '.      These   are    '  each ', 
'  either ',  '  neither ',  '  several ',  *  every ',  '  other '. 

Each  is  employed  to  denote  two  or  more  things 
taken  separately  :  *  Simeon  and  Levi  took  each  man 
his  sword  '.  '  Each '  is  a  singular  word. 

"When  applied  to  two,  *  each  '  is  opposed  to  '  either ',  any  one 
of  the  two,  as  well  as  to  '  hoth  ',  or  the  two  collectively  :  '  I  re- 
solved to  compare  the  accounts  of  my  two  friends,  allowing  for 
the  prejudice  of  each,  and  to  form  my  judgment  upon  both, 
without  adhering  strictly  to  either'.  The  correlative  of  '  each '  is 
' other ',  as  seen  in  the  elliptical  expression  '  bear  each  others 
burdens '. 

Either  means  any  one  of  two  things.  '  Give  me  a 
pen  or  a  pencil ;  either  will  serve  my  purpose ' ;  that 
is,  a  pen  will  serve,  or,  in  the  absence  01  a  pen,  a  pencil 
will  serve. 

'  Either  '  is  often  used  where  the  proper  adjective  would  be 
'  each  ',  but  not  so  often  now  as  formerly.  '  The  King  of  Israel, 
arid  Jehoshaphat,  King  of  Judah,  sat  either  (for  each)  of  them  on 
his  throne.'  'There  was  a  huge  fireplace  at  either  (more  pro- 
perly each)  end  of  the  hall. ' 

Neither  excludes  each  of  two  things;  it  means — 
not  the  one  and  not  the  other  :  *  Truth  may  lie  on  both 
sides,  on  either  side,  or  on  neither  side '. 

Several  refers  to  an  indefinite  number,  and  is 
usually  joined  to  a  plural  noun :  '  they  went  to  their 
several  homes '. 

Every  means  each  individual  of  a  whole  collection 
separately  stated  or  considered  :  '  give  every  man  his 
due'. 

'  Every  '  is  a  compound  of  '  ever-each* ;  it  appeared  about  the 
beginning  of  the  13th  century.  Excepting  in  such  idiomatic 
phrases  as  '  each  other ',  it  might  be  almost  generally  substituted 
for  '  each  '.  '  Every  '  is  an  emphatic  word  for  '  all ',  as  it  seems  to 
address  the  individuals  separately  :  '  England  expects  every  man 
to  do  his  duty  ' ;  '  not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me '.  *  Every 
three  years  '  is  an  admitted  idiom. 


56  PARTS   OP   SPEECH. — THE  ADJECTIVE. 

Other,  opposed  to  'one',  is  the  second  or  alterna- 
tive of  a  couple — a  dual  form  :  '  Both  the  hills,  the  one 
held  by  the  royal  troops,  and  the  other  by  their  enemies, 
were  alive  with-  armed  men '. 

'  No  other '  has  the  more  indefinite  signification  of  '  none 
besides  or  anywhere  '.  Followed  by  '  than '  it  is  the  same  as 
'  none  Lut '.  By  an  incidental  consequence,  '  the  other '  may 
point  out  contrariety  ;  as  '  on  the  one  side  of  the  river  stood  our 
army,  on  the  other,  the  enemy'.  The  meaning  of  Edition 
comes  naturally  to  attach  to  the  word  :  '  get  as  much  other 
knowledge  as  you  can  '.  '  The  other  day'  is  an  idiom  for  '  lately '. 

14.  III.  Adjectives  of  Quality;  as  'a  broad 

way  ',  '  a  heavy  weight ',  '  a  prudent  man'. 

These  embrace  the  great  body  of  adjectives,  and  are  co-exten- 
sive with  human  knowledge.  They  could  be  classified  only  by 
referring  to  the  sciences,  or  different  departments  of  knowledge  ; 
as  mathematics,  natural  history,  morals,  &c.  Everything  that 
can  be  pointed  out  as  a  property,  power,  or  agency,  is  liable  to 
be  expressed  as  an  adjective,  so  as  to  qualify  some  object.  In 
Boget's  Thesaurus  of  Words  and  Phrases,  a  classification  of 
human  knowledge  is  given  as  a  basis  for  the  classification  of 
words  according  to  their  meaning,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the 
words  thus  arranged  are  nouns,  adjectives,  and  verbs  ;  and  there 
is  hardly  any  meaning  that  cannot  appear  in  all  the  three  forms. 

The  nouns  least  suited  to  become  adjectives  are  the  names  of 
natural  classes  or  kinds,  as  '  tree ',  '  horse ',  '  monkey ' ;  because 
these  objects  contain  too  many  qualities  to  be  predicated  of  any- 
thing besides  themselves.  We  cannot  well  have  a  thing  different 
from  a  tree  and  possessing  all  the  characters  of  a  tree  ;  hence 
when  we  derive  an  adjective  from  tree,  as  '  arborescent ',  we 
•mean  only  the  form  of  a  tree,  and  not  all  the  attributes.  So 
'  manly ',  '  leonine  ',  or  '  lionlike '  merely  indicate  some  prominent 
.character  of  a  man,  or  of  a  lion,  and  do  not  transfer  the  whole 
of  the  attributes  of  a  man  or  a  lion  to  something  that  is  neither. 

Adjectives  formed  from  the  names  of  metals,  minerals,  woods, 
&c.,  generally  signify  'made  from'  these  materials. 

Adjectives  derived  from  the  names  of  great  natural  objects, 
often  mean  only  a  reference  to  those  objects  ;  as  the  '  the  solar, 
the  lunar  tables ' — tables  respecting  the  sun  or  moon. 

15.  The   class  of  Adjectives  derived  from   proper 
names,  and  called  Proper  Adjectives,  are  princi- 
pally  adjectives    of   quality;    as  the  l Socratic 


THE  AETICLES.  57 

Method',  which  means  a  certain  peculiar  method, 
invented  or  employed  by  Socrates. 

Some  proper  adjectives  might  be  looked  upon  as  contributing 
to  form  proper  names  ;  as  *  English  law  ',  '  French  literature ', 
the  'Elizabethan  Age'. 

The  Articles. 

The  articles  are  of  great  value  in  our  language.  They  indicate 
three  different  forms  of  the  noun,  each  with  a  separate  meaning : 
*  a  virtue  ',  '  the  virtue ',  and  *  virtue ',  are  all  distinct. 

16.  An  or  A  is  called  the  Indefinite  Article  : 

'  a  horse '  means  no  one  horse  in  particular.  It  gives 
the  species  or  kind  of  thing  wanted,  and  leaves  the 
choice  of  the  individual  free. 

The  indefinite  article  is  the  unemphatic  form  of  the  numeral 
'one ',  and  has  a  meaning  of  its  own,  different  from  the  numeral. 
'.Give  me  a  pen ',  means  '  give  me  an  object  of  the  species  '  pen ' ' ; 
'  give  me  one  pen ',  lays  emphasis  upon  one,  and  implies  that 
one  is  asked  for,  and  not  two  or  three.  '  A  horse,  a  horse,  my 
kingdom  for  a  horse,'  is  any  horse,  anything  that  is  a  horse. 

The  article,  having  a  singular  meaning,  is  a  sign  of  the  singular 
number,  and  is  used  with  all  singular  nouns  (provided  they  are 
such  as  admit  of  the  plural).  Thus  we  do  not  say  '  house ', 
'  table  ',  '  star  ',  but  '  a  house  ',  '  a  table ',  '  a  star  '.  Hence  it 
is  used  with  general  or  class  names,  and  not  with  proper  names 
(Adam,  Mary),  nor  with  names  of  material  (air,  gold),  nor  with 
abstract  names  (wisdom,  bravery).  When  class  nouns  have  no 
plural  change  (sheep,  cannon),  the  presence  or  absence  of  the 
article  is  a  mark  of  the  number  (a  sheep,  sheep).  When  '  a  '  is 
prefixed  to  a  proper  name  (a  Mr.  Brown),  one  of  a  class  is  meant. 

17.  A  is  used  "before  a  consonant,  and  before  *h' 
sounded,  '  y ',  or  '  w ' :  'a  meal ',  « a  house  \  '  a  year ', 
*a  world'.    An  is  used  before  a  vowel,  and  before  silent. 
*'h  ' ;  as  *  an  ounce',  '  an  hour '. 

Many  of  the  best  writers,  as  Macaulay,  use  an  before  '  h  '  (not 
silent)  when  the  accent  is  on  the  second  syllable  :  '  an  historical 
parallel '. 

Some  words  beginning  with  a  vowel  are  pronounced  as  if  they 
began  with  a  consonantal  'y':  ewe,  eunuch,  eulogy,  European, 
useful.  &c.  Before  such  words  some  writers  use  'an  ',  but  most 
use  'a',  which  is  preferable:  'a  ewe',  'a  European  difficulty  ', 
1  a  useful  contrivance '. 


58  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   ADJECTIVE. 

18.  The  is  called  the  Definite  Article,  because 

it  points  out  one  object  definitely  :  *  the  horse  '  means 
some  one  horse  in  particular. 

'The'  is  a  weaker  form  than  the  demonstrative 
*  that '. 

*  That '  in  the  first  instance  supposes  something  actually  seen 
by  being  pointed  out  :  as  when  we  say,  pointing  to  a  candle, 
'  bring  me  that  candle '.  When  we  cannot  point  to  a  thing,  we 
may  mark  it  out  by  some  description :  '  that  candle  whicli  had 
just  been  lit'.  Such  descriptions  when  fully  given  have  the 
form  of  the  adjective  clause,  with  a  relative  of  restriction  :  '  that 
man  whom  (that)  you  see '.  As  a  lighter  form,  we  employ  '  the ' 
instead  of  '  that ' : — '  the  candle  which  (that)  has  just  been  lit '  ; 
'  the  man  whom  (that)  you  see '.  A  single  individual,  person  or 
thing,  is  pointed  out  by  some  circumstance  that  applies  to  him 
or  it,  and  not  to  any  other. 

These  adjective  clauses  of  description  are  often  shortened,  by 
leaving  out  whatever  is  not  essential  to  the  meaning.  Thus 
'  the  man  that  stands  in  the  doorway  ',  may  be  *  the  man  standing 
in  the  doorway ',  or  still  shorter,  '  the  man  in  the  doorway ',  the 
verb  '  standing '  being  understood.  In  such  cases  what  is  left  is 
an  adverb  phrase,  and  this  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  accom- 
paniments of  the  definite  article  : — *  The  way  (that  leads)  to  the 
castle  ' ;  '  the  tree  before  the  house  ' ;  '  the  church  on  the  hill '  ; 
'  the  water  of  the  river '.  The  single-word  adverb  may  also  be 
used  : — '  the  evening  star '  is  the  contraction  for  '  the  star  that 
shines  in  the  evening  ' ;  it  might  have  been  the  '  star  in  the,  even- 
ing '  ;  or  '  the  star  of  evening '  ;  but  usage  prefers  '  the  evening 
star '.  Any  one  of  'the  forms  is  distinctive  of  a  particular  star, 
and  that  is  enough. 

When  the  important  fact  is  given  in  the  verb  itself,  the  verb 
must  be  retained,  whatever  else  is  left  out  : — '  Bring  the  caudle 
that  has  been  lighted ',  if  made  shorter,  must  be  '  the  lighted 
candle '.  The  circumstance  that  distinguishes  this  candle  from 
the  rest  is  its  being  lighted,  and,  therefore,  the  verb  must  be 
kept  to  show  what  individual  is  pointed  at  by  '  the '.  '  The 
standing  stones ' ;  '  the  coming  race  '. 

An  Adjective,  especially  in  the  superlative  degree,  may  serve 
the  same  end  as  the  participle  : — 'the  broad  walk  '  is  supposed 
to  be  so  well  contrasted  with  all  other  walks  by  its  breadth,  that 
to  give  this  adjective  is  to  point  to  one  walk  exclusively.  So, 
'  the  great  pyramid ',  '  the  black  hole '.  '  The  heaviest  metal '  is 
the  one  metal  platinum. 

A  Noun  may  be  the  defining  word  :  '  the  salt  lake  is  a  contrac- 


THE   DEFINITE   ARTICLE.  59 

snch,  the  article  is  properly  used  to  point  out  an  individual. 
So,  '  the  granite  formation ',  '  the  Atlantic  cable  ',  '  the  Pitt 
ministry '. 

The  article  may  be  used  without  any  specifying  accompani- 
ments, as  'thefi.i-e',  'the  hill',  'the  street',  '-the  general',  '  the 
lion  ',  '  the  mind ',  '  the_  Bar ',  '  the  rich  '.  The  shortening  is  here 
carried  to  the  very  utmost ;  the  defining  circumstances  are  left 
out  altogether.  This  is  because  the  person  addressed  knows 
what  is  meant.  We  say  '  the  fire  ',  instead  of  '  the  fire  that  is  in 
tJiis  room ',  because  we  are  speaking  to  a  person  in  the  room,  and 
using  language  that  precludes  all  other  fires.  When  we  say 
'  stir  the  fire ',  we  can  mean  only  the  fire  that  is  in  the  room  :  if 
we  did  not  mean  that,  we  should  have  to  use  defining  words  — 
'go  and  stir  the  bedroom  fire '.  So,  '  the  hill 'means  someone 
hill  near  and  familiar  ;  '  the  street '  is  the  street  that  is  close  by, 
or  where  we  are  living  at  the  time,  or  that  has  been  already 
mentioned  or  defined. 

'  The  lion '  is  a  shorter  way  of  saying,  '  the  species  of  animals 
named  the  lion '.  So  with  '  the  rose  ',  '  the  potato  ',  '  the  palm  ', 
among  plants.  *  The  French '  is  the  people  or  nation  having 
that  name. 

'  The  rich ',  •  the  powerful ',  *  the  great ',  '  the  miserable  ',  are 
phrases  that  leave  out  the  class  name— men  or  human  beings — 
as  being  readily  understood,  and  merely  give  the  name  of  the 
selection  intended,  which  selection,  as  being  one  and  definite, 
receives  the  article. 

'  The  true ',  *  the  just ',  « the  good ',  '  the  lawful ',  '  the.  ex- 
pedient', are  other  forms  of  the  abstract  nouns—  truth,  justice, 
goodness,  lawfulness,  expediency.  They  may  be  considered  as 
shortened,  for  '  the  things  that  are  true ',  'the  things  or  actions 
of  men,  that  are  just ',  &c.  Only  the  essential  word  is  retained  ; 
the  rest  can  be  supposed. 

'  The '  with  a  comparative,  as  in  '  the  more,  the  better ',  does 
not  show  the  ordinary  use  of  the  definite  article  ;  but  is  a  survival 
of  its  ancient  ablative  form  in  the  stronger  demonstrative  sense 
of  '  that '.  'Thy  (the)  ma,  thy  (the)  bet '  is  literally  '  by  that  'or 
by  so  much)  more,  by  that  (or  by  so  much)  better '  ;  like  the 
Latin  '  quo  magis,  eo  melius  '.  '  They  will  ask  the  more ',  docs 
not  properly  exemplify  a  transitive  verb  with  an  object. 

Scotticisms  in  the  use  of  the  Articles. — There  are  various 
Scotticisms  in  connexion  with  the  articles  :— '  How  much  the 
pound  is  it  ? '  (what  is  it  a  pound  ?)  ;  '  sixpence  the  piece '  (a 
piece);  '  the  sugar  is  cheaper '  (sugar);  ' go  to  (the)  school' ;  'say 
(the]  grace  '  ;  '  a  justice  of  (the)  peace  '  ;  'up  (the)  stairs ' ;  '  he 
is  studying  (the)  Botany '. 

The  names  of  diseases  are  recognised  as  proper  nouns  :  '  he 


60  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE   ADJECTIVE. 

has  caught  cold ',  '  he  died  of  consumption,  of  typhus '.  It  is 
an  impropriety  to  treat  them  as  class  nouns,  and  prefix  the 
article — the  cold,  the  fever. 

'  From  Tweed  to  Tay '  is  a  poetical  usage  ;  for  '  from  the 
Tweed  to  the.  Tay '.  'Not  worth  (a)  sixpence.'  '  The  day  '  (to- 
day). 

'  Who  breaks  a  butterfly  upon  a  wheel ',  is  given  by  Lowth  as 
an  error  of  the  article.  The  meaning  is  definite  :  '  the  wheel '. 

To  drop  the  article  from  words  that  it  has  usually  been  joined 
to  has  a  personifying  effect.  When  we  say  '  society '  instead  of 
'  the  society  ',  we  treat  society  as  a  person.  So  with  '  Govern- 
ment '  for  '  the  Government '.  The  Americans  say  '  Community 
thinks  so  too '. 

Substitutes  for  the  Adjective. 

19.  The  Adjective  Clause  is  the  longest  and 
fullest  equivalent  to  the  Adjective ;    it  is  a  sentence 
serving  to  limit  a  noun  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Adjective  :  '  the  way  that  he  ought  to  go '  is  '  the  right 
way ' ;  '  accidents  that  result  in  death '  are  'fatal  acci- 
dents ' ;  '  an  attempt  that  has  no  chance  of  succeeding  ' 
is  *  an  impossible  attempt '. 

The  Adjective  Clause  is  more  fully  exemplified  afterwards  (see 
ANALYSIS  OF  SENTENCES).  We  have  now  seen  that  it  is  by  con- 
tracting Adjective  Clauses  that  we  obtain  the  short  expressions 
with  the  Definite  Article.  In  the  same  way  we  explain  the 
extensive  employment  of  Nouns  as  Adjectives,  and  the  less 
frequent  use  of  Adverbs  and  Prepositions. 

20.  The   Participial    Phrase    gives  the  same 
meaning  in  a  condensed  form  :  '  accidents  resulting  in 
death ',  troops  hired  to  fight '  (mercenary),  •'  the  know- 
ledge possessed  by  him  '  (his)f  *  tribes  given  to  the  wor- 
ship of  idols '  (idolatrous). 

21.  The  Prepositional  Phrase  is  a  still  shorter 
form,  by  an  obvious  ellipsis  :  *  the  war  between  Russia 
and  Turkey1  (  Russo- Turkish)  'disturbances  in  the  colo- 
nies '  (colonial),  '  the  book  before  me '  (this). 

22.  Nouns    employed    as    Adjectives:     'a    gold' 
crown ' ;  *  the  cotton  districts ' ;  the  police  regulations ' ; 


SUBSTITUTES   FOR   THE    ADJECTIVE.  61 

'the  Berlin  decrees';  'Health  of  Towns  Act7;  'cod- 
liver  oil '. 

These  are  all  contracted  forms  :  '  a  gold  crown '  is  '  a  crown 
that  is  made  of  gold  ',  '  a  crown  made  of  gold  ',  '  a  crown  of  gold '  • 
by  retaining  the.  only  essential  word  and  putting  it  in  the  regular 
position  of  the  Adjective,  we  say  '  a  gold  crown  '.  So,  '  the 
districts  where  cotton  is  grown  '  ;  '  the  regulations  that  are  laid 
down  by  the  police  '  ;  the  decrees  that  were  issued  from  Berlin  '  ; 
'  the  Act  that  was  passed  for  improving  the  Healtii  of  Towns  ' ; 

*  oil  tlutt  is  prepared  from  the  liver  of  the  cod  '. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  as  to  the  employment  of  the 
Definite  Article,  it  will  be  seen  that  words  are  often  left  out 
that  are  essential  to  the  full  expression  of  the  meaning,  because 
the  hearer  can  supply  them  from  a  knowledge  of  the  circum- 
stances. 

The  same  noun  used  as  an  adjective  has  not  always  the  same 
meaning  :  in  '  gold  fields ',  the  meaning  of  '  gold  '  is  different ; 
being  the  '  fields  where  gold  is  gathered  or  dug '.  The  word 
'  house  '  has  a  different  application  in  each  of  the  following  in- 
stances— housemaid,  house-top,  house  property,  house  tax,  house 
surveyor,  house  fittings,  house  drainage,  house  robbery.  In 
expressing  the  meaning  at  full  in  each  case,  a  different  verb 
would  be  necessary.  This,  however,  we  are  often  able  to  guess, 
from  the  meanings  of  the  words  themselves.  We  see  that  '  house 
tax '  is  likely  to  mean  a  tax  imposed  upon  the  owners  of  houses. 
In  other  cases,  the  circumstances  or  the  context  will  show  what 
is  the  connection  intended. 

23.  The   Possessive  forms  of  Nouns  and 
Pronouns  may  serve  the  purpose  of  the  Adjective  : 
'  God's   commands '    are    '  tJie   divine   commands  ' ;    'a 
mother's  care '  is  'motherly  or  maternal  care ' ;  '  whose 
image  is  this  1 ' 

Again  the  equivalence  to  the  clause  may  be  shown  :  '  the 
commands  that  God  has  issued ',  'such  care  as  a  mother  bestows ', 
'  an  image  that  represents  whom  is  this  ? ' 

24.  Adverbs  and  Prepositions  may  also  occa- 
sionally be  employed  for  Adjectives. 

This  is  possible  by  leaving  out  part  of  the  complete  expres- 
sion. '  The  king  that  then  reigned  '  is  made  '  the  then  king  '. 
'  The  down  train '  is  a  shortened  form  of  '  the  train  that  goes 
down '.  '  After  ages ',  '  ages  that  are  to  come  after  (the  present)'; 

*  the  above  discourse ',  '  the  discourse  that  has  been  given  above 
(the  point  where  we  now  are) '. 


62  PARTS    OP   SPEECH. — THE   ADJECTIVE. 

Co-ordinating  or  Predicate  Adjectives. 

25.  The  Predicate  of  a  sentence  is  often  made 
up  of  an  Incomplete  Verb  and  an  Adjective  : 

1  the  rose  is  red  ',  l  the  wind  became ,  violent ',  '  the 
king  turned  pale  ',  '  it  is  growing  colder ',  « she  was  pro- 
nounced blameless '. 

26.  Adjectives    in    the    Predicate   are  not 

restrictive,  but  co-ordinating.  They  do  not  narrow 
the  class  mentioned,  but  express  some  new  meaning 
that  adds  to  what  we  know  of  it. 

In  the  designation  '  fixed  stars  ',  the  adjective  '  fixed '  nar- 
rows the  class  '  stars  ',  and  increases  its  signification,  so  that 
the  subject  denotes  not  all  '  stars  ',  but  such  stars  as  are  fixed  : 
this  is  the  usual  purpose  of  an  adjective  joined  to  a  noun.  In 
the  saying — 'the  fixed  stars  are  remote' — the  adjective  'remote' 
does  not  farther  narrow  the  class  '  fixed  stars  ',  but  predicates,  or 
says,  of  them  that  they  are  '  remote  '  ;  that  they  belong  to  the 
class  '  remote  or  distant  things '.  If  we  fill  in  a  supposed  ellipsis, 
writing  '  the  fixed  stars  are  remote  things,  stars,  &c.  ',  then 
1  remote  '  is  restrictive,  limiting  '  things  ',  *  stars  ',  &c.,  but  not 
limiting  '  the  fixed  stars  '. 

27.  Many  Adjectives   prefixed   to   Nouns 
are    not   restrictive,    but    co-ordinating,    or 
predicate  Adjectives. 

This  can  be  known  only  from  the  sense. 

"When  an  adjective  is  prefixed  to  a  proper  or  singular  name,  it 
cannot  be  restrictive.  '  Brave  soldiers  '  expresses  a  select  class 
of  soldiers,  possessing,  in  addition  to  the  qualities  of  all  other 
soldiers,  the  quality  of  being  brave.  But  'brave  Curtius' 
cannot  restrict  Curtius:  an  individual  cannot  be  restricted. 
The  meaning  is — '  Curtius,  who  was  brave  '  ;  it  is  a  short  way  of 
mentioning  Curtius,  and  of  saying  also  that  Curtius  was  a  brave 
man. 

'  Glorious  Apollo '  is  *  Apollo,  who  is  glorious '.  It  names 
Apollo,  and  adds  that  he  is  glorious. 


63 


THE    VERB. 
Definition. 

1.  The  Verb  is  the  part  of  speech  concerned 
in  predication  ;  that  is,  in  affirming  or  denying 

— in  presenting  something  to  be  believed  or  disbelieved, 
something  that  can  be  acted  on.  There  can  be  no 
sentence  without  a  Verb.  '  Milton  wrote  Paradise 
Lost ' ;  '  the  sun  shines ' ;  '  the  sea  is  calm '. 

In  affirmation,  as  has  been  seen,  there  must  always  be  two 
things,  a  subject  and  a  predicate.  The  subject  is  expressed  by 
a  noun  or  its  equivalent  ;  the  predicate  always  contains  a  verb. 
Whenever  any  word  has  the  effect  of  predicating  or  affirming,  it 
is  from  that  circumstance  a  verb.  But  verbs  have  the  1'urther 
grammatical  distinction  of  being  inflected  to  express  varieties  of 
time,  person,  number,  manner  of  action,  &c.  A  verb  proper  is 
thus  distinguished  from  a  word  belonging  to  some  other  part  of 
speech  that  may  be  used  in  predication.  The  adverb  '  away  ' 
may  be  employed  for  the  verb  '  go ',  but  it  is  not  on  that 
account  a  true  grammatical  verb  ;  we  do  not  say  '  I  away,  thou 
awayest,  they  awayed '. 

Classes  of  Verbs. 

2.  I.  Transitive   Verbs  :— The  fire  warms  the 
room. 

Here  '  warm '  is  called  transitive,  because  the  action  passes 
over  to  and  affects  a  certain  object,  '  the  room  '.  This  is  con- 
trasted with  another  class  of  verbs  exemplified  by  '  the  fire 
gloivs ',  where  the  action,  '  glowing ',  is  said  not  to  pass  away 
from,  but  to  adhere  to,  the  fire.  It  is  with  a  transitive  verb 
that  we  have  a  sentence  containing  subject,  action,  and  object, 
in  other  words,  the  completion  of  the  predicate  by  an  object. 

Transitive  verbs  are  construed  in  the  passive  voice  :— '  Watt 
invented  the  steam-engine ',  *  the  steam-engine  was  invented  bv 
Watt'. 

Reflexive  Verbs  are  transitive  verbs  with  the  same 
individual  as  both  subject  and  object:  '/  laid  me  down', 
'  they  contradicted  themselves ',  '  the  king's  policy  de- 
veloped itself  \ 


64  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE   VERB. 

Reciprocal  Verbs  are  transitive  verbs  used  in  the 
expression  of  mutual  action  and  reaction  of  subject 
and  object :  '  they  help  each  other '. 

There  is  nothing  peculiar  in  the  verbs  themselves  ;  they  are 
ordinary  transitive  verbs  ;  but  from  the  circumstances  of  their 
use  they  seldom  take  the  passive  form.  '  They  were  contra- 
dicted by  themselves  '  is  not  a  usual  form,  being  quite  unne- 
cessary ;  but  we  mav  say  '  they  were  contradicted  by  their  own 
evidence,'  or  such-like.  '  They  help  each  other '  is  simply  ellip- 
tical for  *  they  help  ;  each  helps  (the)  other(s)  ' ;  a:M  the  passive 
constmction  is  equally  rare  in  this  case. 

3.  II.  Intransitive  Verbs: — Come, lie, sit,  stand, 
sleep,  walk,  run,  speak,  bark,  wonder,  groan,  breathe, 
live,  die. 

These  give  a  complete  meaning  without  an  object : — '  He 
comes',  'they  run',  'I  wonder  \  'we  shall  all  die'.  'After 
life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well.' 

One  of  the  innumerable  ways  of  shortening  speech  ia  to  leave 
out  the  object  of  a  verb,  and  express  the  action  generally,  or 
without  referring  to  any  object  in  particular.  Thus  the  verb 
'  see '  is  a  transitive  verb  ;  it  needs  an  object,  or  something  to 
be  seen  :  'the  child  sees  the  candle'.  Yet  we  h^ve  this  expres- 
sion : — 'The  new-born  child  sees,  the  puppy  is  blind'.  The 
verb  now  expresses  the  power  of  seeing  things  in  general,  and 
not  any  one  thing  in  particular.  So,  'men  build  houses' 
(tran.)  ;  'men  build,  and  time  pulls  down'  (intrans.).  'Blest 
be  the  art  that  can  immurtalise.'  *  Keep  (for  keep  yourself,  re- 
flexive) out  of  the  way  '. 

Intransitive  Verbs  converted  into  Transitives. — Intransitive 
verbs  are  very  often  modified  by  adverbial  expressions  in  the 
form  of  preposition  and  noun  ;  as  '  I  wonder  at  his  zeal ' ;  '  they 
came  to  the  resolution ' ;  '  his  friends  stood  by  him '.  By  an 
allowable  process,  the  prepositions  in  such  cases  become  adverbs 
united  to  the  verbs,  constituting  them  compound  verbs,  and 
rendering  them  transitive  likewise  :  what  was  the  object  of  the 
preposition  being  now  the  object  of  the  verb.  Thus  we  have 
: the  verbs  'wonder at,'  'come  to,'  'standby,'  'speak to/  'ride 
about'  (the  town,  the  fields),  which  are  often  transitive  in  the 
fullest  sense,  as  tested  by  the  passive  construction  :  'his  zeal 
was  woni.lcred  at '  ;  ' the  resolution  was  come  to' ;  ' the  servant 
was  spoken  to '. 

The  verbs  termed  '  Causative  '  are  a  class  of  Transitive  verbs, 
formed  from  Intransitive.  '  He  sets  'is  'he  causes  to  sit '.  So 


INTRANSITIVE,    INCOMPLETE,    ETC.  65 

'stay,  lay,  fell,  raise,  soak,  drench,  dip,?  &c.,  are  short  ways  of 
Diving  the  sense  of  '  cause  or  make  to  stand,  lie,  fall,  rise,  suck, 
drink,  dive,'  &c. 

Sonic  intransitive  verbs  are  made  transitive  and  causative 
without  any  change  :  'the  horse  walks'  (intrans.)  ;  '  the  groom. 
walked  the  horse '  (trans.);  '  the  wood  floated  ',  (intrans.);  'the 
raftsman  floated  the  wood  down  the  river '  (trans.). 

Many  intransitive  verbs  take  a  cognate  noun  after  them, 
which  is  rather  an  adverbial  modification  than  a  true  object ;  as 
1  they  ran  a  race,'  '  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,'  'sleep  the  sleep 
that  knows  no  waking  '.  Yet,  as  in  the  prepositional  phrases 
above,  the  noun  can  be  subject  in  the  passive  construction  :  '  a 
race  was  run,'  &c. 

4.  III.  Incomplete,  Apposition,  or  Copula 
Verbs  : — Be,  become,  seera,  appear,  grow,  walk. 

The  verb  'be'  usually  needs  some  word  to  come  after  it  in 
order  to  give  a  meaning  :  '  he  is '  means  nothing  (except  to 
express  simple  existence)  :  '  he  is  leader ',  'he  is  strong ',  '  he  is 
at  a  distance  '  are  sentences  where  the  predicating  verb  takes 
some  additional  words— noun,  adjective,  or  adverb — to  give  a 
complete  sense. 

'  What  seemed  the  likeness  of  a  kingly  crown '  ;  '  the  decision 
appeared  to  be  just ' ;  '  the  small  acorn  will  grow  a  mighty  tree '. 
'  He  lived  an  apostle  and  died  a  martyr ' ;  the  intransitive  verbs 
'  live '  'die,'  appear  here  as  incomplete  verbs,  completed  by  the 
nouns  '  an  apostle, '  *  a  martyr  '. 

5.  Certain  verbs  are  designated  Auxiliary  Verbs,  because 
they  contribute  to  make  up  various  forms  in  the  conjugation  of 
the  verb.     '  Be,'  the  incomplete  or  copula  verb  by  pre-eminence, 
is  the  chief ;  the  others  are — '  have  ',   '  will ',   '  shall '. 

6.  The  Impersonal   Verbs  are,    strictly  speaking,    verbs 
detective  in  the  persons,  being  used  only  with  the  third  person 
singular  ;  they  are  hence  called  also  '  unipcraonal '.     Such  are 
'  it  rains, '  '  it  snows '. 

7.  Other  parts  of  speech  are  sometimes  used  as 

Verbs  :  as  '  Hence;  home,  you  idle  creatures ' :  '  Up,  Guards,  and 
at  'ern '.  There  is  in  such  instances  an  obvious  ellipsis,  or 
omission  of  the  proper  verb  :  '  go  hence  '.  Nouns  and  Adjec- 
tives are  freely  converted  into  verbs,  and  regularly  conjugated 
as  such  :  '  he  ages  fast ',  '  the  sun  dries  the  road '. 


66 


THE  ADVERB, 
Definition. 

I.  The  Adverb  limits  or  modifies  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Verb  : — '  she  sings  brilliantly ' ;  *  they 
ran  well '. 

The  verb  usually  expresses  some  action,  or  active  exertion, 
and,  as  an  action  may  be  performed  in  many  ways,  words  are 
needed  to  show  this  ;  the  action  named  by  the  verb  '  sing '  may 
be  performed  with  every  variety  of  excellence,  and  under  many 
circumstances ;  and  instead  of  employing  additional  sentences 
to  specify  these  modes,  a  single  word  or  phrase  is  taken  for  the  pur- 
pose. '  She  sang  here  yesterday  for  an  hour  with  great  applause. ' 
Four  circumstances  are  given  as  accompanying  or  modifying  the 
action — one  of  place,  given  by  the  single-word  adverb  *  here '  ; 
one  of  time  by  a  single  word  '  yesterday ',  and  another  of  time 
by  a  phrase  '  for  an  hour  ' ;  one  of  quality  or  manner  by  a  phrase 
'  with  great  applause '. 

When  we  say  the  adverb  qualifies  the  verb,  we  mean  the 
action  expressed  by  the  verb,  which  action  may  involve  other 
words-  in  addition.  '  He  boldly  fought-his-way-to-the-barrier  ' : 
*  boldly '  qualifies  the  entire  predicate — 'fought  his  way  to  the 
barrier '. 

The  adverb  is  commonly  said  to  qualify,  not  verbs  alone,  but 
also  adjectives  and  other  adverbs.  This  is  not  true  generally,  but 
applies  to  one  of  the  smallest  classes  of  adverbs,  those  express- 
ing DEGKEE.  The  attributes  expressed  by  adjectives  are  usually 
variable  in  degree  ;  and  the  variations  are  expressed  by  adverbs 
'  good,  very  good ' ;  so  with  adverbs — '  wise.ly,  very  wisely  '.  But 
the  most  numerous  class  of  adverbs,  the  class  containing  ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  the  whole — adverbs  of  manner  or 
quality,  could  not  from  their  nature  qualify  Adjectives  and 
Adverbs.  'A  being  darkly  wise '  is  partly  a  poetic  figure,  and 
partly  exemplifies  the  practice  of  using  adverbs  of  quality  to 
express  degree,  through  some  accident  in  their  meaning  that, 
suggests  quantity.  Thus 'scarcely',  'exceedingly',  'confound- 
edly ',  are  in  the  first  instance  adverbs  of  quality  or  manner,  but 
they  are  adopted  to  serve  for  degree. 

When  an  adverb  seems  to  qualify  a,  preposition,  it  really  quali- 
fies an  adverbial  phrase  :  *  greatly  above  his  reach ',  '  much  before 
the  time '. 


ADVERBS,    SIMPLE   AND   RELATIVE.  67 

An  adverb  may  qualify  a  noun,  but  the  nouns  so  qualified  are 
transmuted  verbs,  or  verbal  nouns  :  '  I  shall  study  only  instruc- 
tion ',  for  '  only  that  I  may  instruct '  ;  '  he  was  fully  master  of 
the  subject ',  '  he  fully  mastered  '.  '  An  only  sou  'is  'an  only 
bei/otten  son  '.  By  such  abbreviations  adverbs  are  at  last  taken 
for  adjectives.  '  The  house  here  '  is  '  the  house  that  is  here  '. 
Napoleon,  (who  was)  lately  Emperor  of  the  French.'  This  is 
less  irregular  than  '  the  late  Emperor  ' ;  the  fact  of  time  is  more 
properly  stated  by  an  adverb:  '  my  former  teacher  '  is  a  trans- 
formation of  '  he  that  formerly  taught  me '. 

Classes  of  Adverbs. 

2.  Before  classifying  adverbs  according  to  their  signification 
(as  place,  time,  &c.),  it  is  proper  to  advert  to  an  important  dis- 
tinction running  through  all  these  classes.      Most  adverbs  con- 
tain their  meaning  within  themselves,  and  are  therefore  called 
simple;  they  might  also  be  called  absolute,  or  notional ;  such 
are  '  now  ',  '  here  ',  '  greatly  ',  '  delightfully  '.     A  small  number 
have  no  meaning  in  themselves,  but  refer  to  some  adjoining 
clause    for    the    meaning  ;     as,     '  when, '     '  while, '     '  where  '. 
1  whether ',   '  whence  ',   '  why  ',   '  wherever  ',   '  as  ',   '  than  ',  &c. 
These  are  to  the  other  adverbs  what  the  pronoun  is  to  the  noun, 
and  hence  they  are  called  relative  adverbs  ;  they  are  also  connec- 
tive or  conjunctive  adverbs,  being  in  fact   commonly  reckoned 
among  conjunctions.      'He  came  while'  is  not  intelligible  ;  the 
sense  is  suspended  till  some  other  clause  is  supplied  :  '  He  came 
while,  I  was  speaking  '  ;   '  I  know  not  whence  you  are '. 

Most  of  this  class  are  obvious  derivatives  of  the  relative  '  who  ' 
(or  its  root);  and  we  have  seen  that  they  are  substitutes  for  the 
relative  pronouns. 

Taking  simple  and  relative  adverbs  together,  we  may  classify  - 
them  thus : — 

3.  I.   Adverbs   of  Place;    as   'here*,   'there', 

'  without ',  *  above ',  '  near ',  *  apart ',  '  together ',  &c. 

This  includes  the  following  regularly  formed  pronominal 
group  :— 

Place  where.  Motion  to.  Motion  from. 

Here  Hither  Hence 

There  Thither  Thence 

Where  Whither  Whence 

Also  the  compounds,  '  hitherward ',  '  thitherward ',    '  whither- 
ward '. 


68  PARTS    OP   SPEECH. — THE   ADVERB. 

4.  1.  Rest  in  a  place:  'here',  'there '»  'where*, 

'  by ',  '  near ',  <  yonder ',  '  above  ',  •  below '. 

Here,  in  this  place,  this  place  ;  opposed  to  *  there  ',  in  that, 
or  some  other  place  ;  an  adverbial  substitute  for  the  demonstra- 
tive 'this  '.  It  has  metaphorical  extensions  to  other  subjects  : 
'  here  lies  the  difference  '. 

There,  in  its  primitive  meaning,  is  explained  by  its  contrast 
to  '  here  '.  The  two  are  coupled  together  in  various  idioms  ;  as 
'  neither  here  nor  there  '  (no  matter),  '  here  a  plain,  there  a  river '. 

'  There  '  has  a  very  peculiar  use.  We  employ  it  to  begin 
sentences  without  any  special  reference  to  the  idea  of  place,  and 
hence  derive  one  of  our  idiomatic  forms  of  syntax.  '  There  was 
once  a  good  king ' ;  '  there  was  not  a  tree  to  be  seen  '  ;•  '  there 
came  a  voice  from  heaven  '.  Out  of  the  definite  signification 
'in  that  place'  has  sprung  an  expression  of  mere  existence.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  transition.  To  be  able  to  say 
that  a  thing  is  in  a  certain  place  is  to  give  an  emphatic  assurance 
that  it  exists  ;  and  hence  the  localising  statement  has  become 
the  statement  of  existence.  Instead  of  saying  '  a  road  is ',  or 
'  exists ',  we  say  '  there  is  a  road  '.  This  idiom  is  found  very 
convenient,  but  is  apt  to  be  abused,  and  the  excessive  use  of  it 
should  be  avoided.  Thus,  instead  of  such  circumlocutions  as 
'  there  is  a  sense  in  which  that  is  true  ',  '  there  is  a  plan  by  which 
you  might  do  it',  we  might  with  more  elegance,  because  more, 
briefly,  say  '  in  one  sense  that  is  true  ',  '  one  plan  would  be  '. 

The  following  sentence  is  an  example  of  the  effect  of  the  form 
in  question  :  '  One  act  James  induced  them  to  pass  which  would 
have  been  most  honourable  to  him  and  them,  if  there  icere  not 
abundant  proofs  that  it  was  meant  to  be  a  dead  letter '. 
(Macaulay.) 

Where  is  one  of  our  interrogative  words.  In  form  it  is  an 
adverb,  like  '  here  '  and  '  there  ' ;  in  use  it  is  also  a  purely  con- 
nective word,  serving  the  function  of  a  relative  or  of  a  conjunc- 
tion. '  She  left  the  place  iche-re  she  was  so  happy. '  Having 
the  original  meaning  of  place,  it  has  acquired  the  same  meta- 
phorical extensions  as  those  two  other  words.  '  Where  ignorance 
is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise.'  By  an  ellipsis  easy  to  explain  we 
find  it  employed  as  if  it  were  a  substantive  :  '  He  had  no  where 
to  lay  his  head  ',  for  '  he  had  no  place  where  he  might  lay  his 
head '.  We  have  the  compound  phrase  '  somewhere ',  like 
'  somehow7 ',  '  nohow  ',  &c. 

Near,  by,  are  the  adverbs  of  nearness  or  proximity : 
'there  was  no  one  by  '  ;  'he  stood  fa/ '  ;  '  by  comes  a  horseman '. 
'  By  '  shows  its  difference  from  '  here  '  (in  this  spot),  in  the 
phrase  '  put  by  ',  which  means  put  away  or  remove. 


ADVERBS  OF  PLACE  AND  TIME.          69 

Under  this  head  we  class  the  adverbs  of  numerical  order: 
'  firstly '  or  '  first ',  '  secondly ',  '  lastly '. 

5.  2.  Motion  to   a    place:    'hither',    'thither', 
'  whither '. 

Hither,  thither,  are  likewise  an  opposed  and  mutually 
explaining  couple  :  '  to  this  place  ',  '  to  that  place ' ;  '  come 
hither ',  '  go  thither ' ;  '  where  I  am,  thither  ye  cannot  come '. 

Whither  is  '  to  what  place  ? '  as  an  interrogative  '  ;  '  to 
which  place  ',  as  a  relative. 

6.  3.   Motion  from  a  place:    'hence', 'thence', 

'  whence '. 

Hence,  thence,  whence ;  'from  this  place ',  'from  that 

place  ',  '  from  what  or  which  place  '.  '  Hence  '  is  extended  to 
time,  '  a  week  hence  ' ;  also  to  reason  or  cause,  as  '  hence  (from 
this  cause)  it  is  '  ;  likewise  from  this  source  or  origin :  '  all  other 
faces  borrowed  hence  their  light,  their  grace  '.  The  extension  to 
time  hardly  takes  place  with  '  thence  '  and  '  whence  ',  but  these 
share  in  the  extensions  to  reason  or  cause  :  '  the  facts  are 
admitted,  whence  we  conclude  that  the  principle  is  true '. 
'From  whence '  seems  a  tautology,  or  superfluity  of  expression, 
but  we  find  it  in  good  use :  '  Who  art  thou,  courteous 
stranger,  and /row  whence  ? ' 

Separation  in  place  is  expressed  by  '  apart ',  '  separately ', 
'  asunder '. 

Conjunction  is  expressed  by  '  together .' 

Place,  in  a  variety  of  relative  positions,  is  indicated  by 
'  above ',  '  aloft ',  '  below  ',  '  under ',  '  down ',  *  beyond ', 
*  yonder  ',  '  away  ',  '  through  ',  '  in ',  '  out ',  '  without ',  '  in- 
wards ',  '  inside  ',  '  around  ',  '  fro  ',  '  forth '. 

The  compounds  with  the  single  adverbs  of  place  are  exceed- 
ingly numerous,  and  many  of  them  pass  into  other  classes,  and 
even  into  other  parts  of  speech  by  metaphorical  application: 
hereby,  herein,  hereupon,  thereabouts,  thereafter,  therefore, 
thereof,  thereon,  whereas,  whereby,  wherefore,  whereof,  any- 
where, elsewhere,  somewhere,  wheresoever,  &c. 

7.  II.    Adverbs   of  Time;   as  'ever',  'lately', 
'  often ',  '  before ',  &c.     Time  may  be  present,  past,  or 
future. 

8.  1.  Time   present.     Under   this   we   include 
the  following :  'now',  'to-day',  'instantly',  'presently', 


70  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   ADVERB. 

'still',  'forthwith',  *  henceforth  'j  together  with  such 
phrases  as  '  this  instant ',  &c. 

Closely  allied  to  this  class  are  those  adverbs  that  connect  one 
thing  with  another  in  point  of  time,  such  as  '  while ',  '  when  ', 
*  then ',  '  as ',  '  immediately '. 

The  word  now  is  the  main  or  typical  adverb  of  present  time, 
from  which  signification  its  other  uses  are  derived. 

'  Immediately '  is  used  by  the  Scotch,  when  the  English  use 
'  presently  '.  '  I  will  come  presently  '  is  the  current  English 
expression  for  '  I  will  lose  no  time ',  *  I  will  come  without 
delay '.  The  strict  use  of  '  immediately  '  is  to  make  one  event 
follow  close  on  another  in  a  narrative  ;  *  he  heard  the  news, 
and  immediately  set  out '. 

9.  2.    Time     past:     'before',     'heretofore', 
'hitherto',  'already',  'lately',  'once',  'yesterday'. 

The  meaning  of  once  is  '  some  former  time  not  signified '. 

10.  3.  Time   future:    'hereafter',    'afterwards', 
'soon',  'henceforth',  'presently',  'immediately',  'to- 
morrow ',  '  no  more '. 

It  will  be  seen  that  some  of  these  (soon,  presently,  immedi- 
ately, henceforth)  have  been  already  enumerated  under  present 
time.  They  express  an  action  just  about  to  commence,  and  there- 
fore, though  strictly  future,  they  are  yet  also  practically  present. 

11.  4.    Duration    and     Repetition:     'ever', 
'never',  'always',  'aye';  'often',  'seldom',  'rarely', 
'occasionally',   'frequently',   'continually',    'continu- 
ously',  'incessantly',    'perpetually',   'again',   'once', 
'  twice ',  '  daily ',  '  monthly ',  '  annually ',  '  periodically'. 

Ever  is  the  foremost  of  the  class  expressive  of  duration.  Its 
meaning  is  '  at  all  times ',  or  '  through  all  time ' ;  and  owing  to 
the  great  force  or  impressiveness  obtained  through  this  extensive 
signification,  we  find  it  employed  as  a  word  of  emphasis  :  '  if  he 
offer  ever  so  much ',  meaning  an  indefinitely  large  quantity. 
By  analogy  we  extend  the  figure  still  farther,  and  say  '  ever  so 
little  ',  although  this  somewhat  borders  on  a  contradiction  of; 
the  original  meaning  ;  as  also  does  '  ever  the  less '  for  '  one  whit 
the  less  '.  The  same  reason  explains  the  applications  of  '  never '. 
As  it  excludes  all  time,  it  is  a  term  of  strong  denial,  and  is 
employed  for  mere  purposes  of  emphasis.  '  He  answered  him 


ADVERBS  OF  TIME  AND  DEGREE.         71 

Again  means  originally  '  back ',  *  opposite  ',  *  on  the  con- 
trary ',  'on  the  other  hand',  and  hence  'a  second  time',  but 
is  not  confined  to  this  application.  It  serves  as  a  conjunctive 
adverb,  or  conjunction,  introducing  a  new  sentence  or  paragraph, 
with  the  signification  'once  more',  or  '  in.  addition  '.  By  the 
phrase  '  once  and  again ',  frequent  repetition  is  denoted. 

12.  III.    Degree,    or    Measure;    as  'much', 

.'little ',  '  very ',  '  far ',  ' exceedingly '. 

These  refer  to  the  attribute  of  quantity,  which  has  been  seen 
above  to  be  estimated  in  two  ways,  namely,  by  numbers,  and  by 
indefinite  words. 

For  a  scale  of  intensity  beginning  at  the  least,  we  have  '  very 
little ',  '  little  ',  '  slightly  ',  '  scarcely  ',  '  inconsiderably  ', 
'  pretty  ',  '  moderately  ',  *  enough  ',  '  sufficiently  ',  '  much  ', 

*  very  much  ',  *  greatly ',  '  exceedingly ',  '  utterly  ',  '  thoroughly', 
'generally ',  *  universally  ',  ' terribly  '.     '  Gay  ',  in  the  sense* of 

*  very  ',  is  a  Scotticism. 

'Generally'  has  two  very  different  meanings  which  are  liable  to  occasion 
ambiguity.  In  the  one  sense  it  implies  '  for  the  most  part ',  or  '  in  the 
majority  of  instances ',  as  '  the  plan  generally  succeeded  ',  or  succeeded  in 
the  greater  number  of  trials.  In  the  other  sense  it  means  a  general  or 
generalised  fact  or  attribute,  something  common  to  a  whole  class,  tus 
'  Animals  generallii  have  a  nervous  system  ',  or,  it  is  a  general  property  of 
animals.  The  first  is  the  most  visual  meaning,  the  second  is  better 
expressed  by  the  phrase  '  in  general '. 

Defect.  The  following  may  be  considered  as  expressing  quan- 
tity under  the  form  of  defect  or  deficiency  :  '  almost ',  '  nearly  ', 
'  little ',  *  less  ',  '  least ',  '  hardly ',  '  but ',  *  partly  ',  *  well-nigh  '. 

*  Partly'  is  an  adverb  of  division :   * partly  his,  partly  yours  '. 

Excess  is  implied  by  'very',  'far',  'exceedingly',  'more', 
'  most ',  '  better  ',  *  best ',  '  worst '. 

Equality,  or  sufficiency :  'enough',  'sufficiently',  'equally', 

*  exactly  ',  '  perfectly  ',  '  truly  ',  'just '. 

Abatement,  or  gradation :  '  liardly ',  '  piecemeal ',  '  gradually '. 

Repetition  (implies  number) :  'seldom',  'often',  'frequently', 
'  once  ',  '  twice  ',  '  thrice  ',  '  again  ',  '  once  more  '.  In  the  sense 
of  addition :  '  also ',  '  likewise  ',  '  besides  ',  '  too  '. 

13.  There  are   certain   important    adverbs    of 
Comparison  :  'so',  'as',  'than',  'the',  and  'too'.  With 
these  may  be  joined  'enough',  'sufficiently',  and  'only*. 

So,  in  its  original  etymology,  is  a  demonstrative  pronoun, 
meaning  '  by  that '.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  still  employed  in 
this  character.  It  thence  became  an  adverb  of  comparison: 


72        PARTS  OF  SPEECH. — THE  ADVERB. 

'it  was  so  dark,  that  we  could  see  nothing  '.     It  was  dark  'by 

that,  to  that  measure,  namely,  that  we   could    not   see '.      To 

make   the   comparison,    some   second   clause   or    statement    is 

requisite.       Sometimes   it   is   used   with   a  maiked  emphasis : 

'  Sn  frowned  the  mighty  combatants,  that  hell 

Grew  darker  at  their  frowii.' 

In  colloquial  language,  we  often  leave  *he  comparison  un- 
supplied,  and  then  the  word  is  a  mere  expression  of  intensity ; 
'  the  view  is  so  fine '. 

The  application  to  signify  cause  and  effect  is  in  conformity 
with  the  original  meaning  :  •  he  ran  with  all  his  might,  and  so 
was  first';  which  is  to  say,  that  'running  in  that  manner,  he 
became  first ' ;  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect  being  inferred 
from  the  sequence  of  statement. 

As,  etymologically,  is  a  contraction  of  '  ail-so '.  In  substance 
it  is  the  same  word  as  '  so  ',  and  admits  of  the  same  interpreta- 
tion. It  also  retains  a  pronominal  application  in  the  relative 
combination  'such  as',  and  perhaps  in  the  constructions  'as 
follows  ',  '  as  regards  '.  The  adverbial  signification  '  as  brave 
as  a  lion  '  may  be  explained  '  brave  by  that  (or  in  that  degree)  by 
which  (or  in  which  degree)  a  lion  is  brave  '.  By  an  admitt<  d 
ellipsis,  we  may  say  '  brave  as  a  lion  '.  'As  far  as  we  can  see  '; 
'as  two  is  to  one,  so  is  twelve  to  six';  two  is  to  one  by  that, 
twelve  is  to  six  by  that.  '  Men  are  more  happy,  as  they  are  less 
involved  in  affairs ';  '  more '  (the  more)  completes  the  comparison. 

'As '  passes  into  more  remote  meanings  when  used  as  a  conjunc- 
tion. Thus  it  means  time— '  he  trembled  as  he  spoke  '  ;  reason 
— '  as  (for  since)  you  are  of  that  opinion  '.  In  combination  with 
'  if ',  the  comparative  signification  is  still  apparent ;  '  as  if  we 
did  not  know  that '.  There  is  simply  an  ellipsis. 

Than  (formerly  '  then ')  follows  comparatives.  '  He  is 
stronger  than  you '  is,  in  full,  '  he  is  stronger ;  then  (•=.  next, 
in  a,  lower  degree)  strong  are  you '. 

The  (O.E.  thy,  abl.  of  demonstr.  adj.  )precedes  comparatives. 
'The  more,  the  better '='by  that  more,  by  that  better',  'better 
in  that  degree  in  which  more  '.  Compare  '  as '. 

Too  is  likewise  an  adverb  of  comparison  occasionally  employed 
in  the  absolute  sense.     Its  terseness  is  fully  appreciated  in  trans- 
lating into  other  languages,  as  the  Latin.      '  He  is  too  old  to 
learn '  is  a  happy  abbreviation  of  '  he  is  so  old  that  he  is  unable 
to  learn  '.    When  the  phrase  expressing  the  comparison  is  sup- 
pressed, we  must  understand  the  word  in  the  sense  of  '  more  than 
enough,  than  what  is  just,  right,  convenient,  fitting,  or  desirable'. 
•  Oh  !  that  this  too,  too  solid  flesh  would  melt, 
Thaw,  arid  resolve  itself  into  a  dew.' 


ADVERBS    OF   COMPARISON    AND    CERTAINTY.  73' 

Enough  and  sufficiently  are  also  used  in  a  similar  way  : 
'  1  am  old  enough  to  manage  my  own  affairs ' ;  '  the  irritation  is 
sufficiently  great  to  lead  to  war '.  The  longer  forms  would  be  : 
'  1  am  so  old  that  I  am  able  to  manage  my  own  affairs  '  ;  '  the 
irritation  is  so  great  that  it  may  lead  to  war '. 

The  condensation  may  be  carried  even  to  the  omission  of  the 
word  of  comparison,  the  force  of  which,  however,  is  felt  to  be 
implied  :  '  He  is  not  a  man  to  put  confidence  in  '  ;  'he  had  not 
the  prudence  to  conceal  his  anger '.  The  longer  forms  would 
be  :  '  he  is  not  so  honourable  (trustworthy,  good,  able,  &c. )  a 
man  that  one  can  put  confidence  in  him '  ;  'he  was  not  so 
prudent  as  to  conceal  his  anger — that  he  concealed  his  anger  '. 

The  important  word  only,  with  the  synonymes  'solely', 
'  merely  ',  '  alone  ',  might  be  included  under  the  present  head. 
The  general  meaning  of  '  only '  is  '  this  one  thing  by  itself ',  to 
the  exclusion  of  other  things. 

14.  IV.  Belief  and  Disbelief,  or  Certainty 
and  Uncertainty;  as  ' truly ',  ' surely ',  ' certainly ', 

'  nay ',  '  not ',  '  perhaps ',  '  possibly  '. 

This  being  a  distinction  of  great  and  leading  importance,  the 
words  that  indicate  the  degrees  of  certainty  and  uncertainty  are 
a  marked  class,  although  not  very  numerous. 

For  the  expression  of  belief  or  certainty,  we  have  '  certainly ', 
'  surely  ',  '  assuredly ',  '  truly  ',  '  verily  ',  '  undoubtedly ', 
'  exactly ',  '  positively  ',  'precisely  ',  '  indeed ',  '  yes  ',  '  yea  ';* 
with  a  variety  of  phrases,  as,  '  of  course  ',  '  by  all  means  ',  '  in .. 
truth  ',  '  even  so ',  'just  so  ',  '  most  assuredly  ',  '  by  all  manner 
of  means',  '  on  every  ground ',  'without  fail',  'without  excep- 
tion ',  '  beyond  all  doubt ',  *  beyond  the  possibility  of  question  ', 
'  to  be  sure '. 

For  the  expression  of  disbelief,  we  have  principally  the  great 
particle  of  negation,  '  not ',  or  '  no  ',*  and  phrases  deriving 
their  negative  force  from  it  :  '  no  ',  '  not ',  '  nay  ',  '  not  so ', 
'  not  at  all ',  '  no  wise  ',  '  by  no  means ',  '  by  no  manner  of 
means  ',  '  on  no  account ',  '  in  no  respect ',  '  not  in  the  least ', 

*  The  words  yes,  yea,  ay,  no,  are  called  adverbs,  and  seem  to  have  an  • 
adverbial  force  ;  but,  as  Mr.  0.  P.  Mason  remarks,  they  are  never  used  to 
qualify  verbs,  adjectives,  or  other  adverbs,  and  therefore  appear  scarcely 
entitled  to  the  appellation.  He  proposes  to  call  them  interjections  ;  but 
this  too  seems  objectionable,  as  they  are  not  outbursts  of  emotion,  like 
'  alas  1 '  '  hurrah ' !  and  the  like.  They  are  rather  a  species  of  relative 
words,  which  express  a  speaker's  assent  or  denial  to  a  particular  state- 
ment, not  by  repeating  the  statement,  but  by  referring  to  it  as  having 
juat  been  enounced.  Many  of  the  words  in  the  above  list,  may  be 
detached  in  the  same  way  from  the  sentence  that  they  qualify  :  for 
example— 'certainly',  'surely',  '  indeed',  &c.  The  adverb  then  stand* 
alone  by  an  obvious  ellipsis. 


74  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   ADVERB. 

'  not  a  whit ',  '  not  a  bit ',  *  not  a  jot ',  'forsooth  '  (an  ironical 
phrase  in  modern  English,  but  used  at  one  time  seriously,  for 
'  verily '). 

For  probability,  contingency,  or  uncertainty,  we  have  '  perhaps,' 
'probably',  'possibly',  'maybe',  'haply',  'mayhap',  'likely,' 
'  perchance  ',  '  peradventure ',  howbeit '. 

15.  V.    Cause    and    Effect;   as   < therefore', 
'  wherefore ',  '  why ',  '  whence  ',  *  hence  ',  '  thus ',  and 
numerous  phrases. 

Under  this  head  we  may  include  instrumentality,  which 
meaning,  however,  although  abundantly  expressed  by  phrases 
and  clauses,  is  seldom  given  by  any  single  word. 

16.  VI.  Manner,  or  Quality;  as  'well',  'ill', 

'  wisely ',  '  bravely ',  '  softly ',  '  quickly ',  *  remarkably ', 
'  rightly '. 

As  with  adjectives,  this  is  the  class  that  includes  the  great 
body  of  adverbs.  Of  the  five  previous  classes  it  is  possible 
to  give  an  exhaustive  enumeration,  but  adverbs  of  quality 
make  a  large  part  of  the  vocabulary  of  the  language.  The 
mode  or  manner  of  doing  an  action  may  be  very  various,  as  we 
may  see  on  a  little  reflection.  Suppose  the  subject  is  putting 
something  in  motion ;  we  may  move  quickly,  steadily,  violently, 
suddenly,  abruptly,  hurriedly,  straight,  zigzag,  strongly, 
rightly,  beautifully,  unexpectedly,  and  so  on.  And  every  kind 
of  action  that  it  is  possible  to  mention  has  varieties  of  manner 
peculiar  to  itself.  Thus  '  to  speak  ',  'to  sing ',  'to  eat ',  '  to 
look ',  '  to  work  ',  '  to  govern ',  '  to  die  ',  have  all  their  special 
modes,  exclusive  of  the  attributes  of  time,  place,  and  degree, 
above  enumerated  ;  and  the  word,  or  phrase,  or  clause,  expres- 
sive of  that  mode,  is  considered  in  grammar  as  an  adverb.  '  He 
spoke  long,  clearly,  to  the  purpose.'  'He  looked  hard,  loitJi 
anxiety,  as  if  he  were  in  earnest.'  '  He  governed  wisely,  with 
discretion,  so  as  to  gain  esteem.'  '  He  died  easily,  without 
suffering,  as  one  would  have  predicted.'  A  word,  or  combination 
of  words,  answering  to  the  interrogative  '  how '  is  au  adverb 
of  manner,  as  replying  to  an  inquiry  into  the  special  mode 
or  circumstances  of  an  action.  If  we  say  '  the  sun  shines ', 
any  one  may  demand  a  more  specific  account  of  this  fact,  which 
is  known  to  take  place  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  the  words 
employed  to  give  such  more  specific  information  are  adverbs  or 
the  equivalents  of  adverbs :  '  the  sun  shines  brightly,  or  with 
intermission,  or  so  as  to  light  up  the  landscape,  or  as  if  we  were 


ADVERBS    OF   CAUSE   AND   MANNER.  75 

in  the  tropics '.  The  name  for  the  specifying  attribute  of  a  noun 
corresponds  to  the  adjective  in  grammar ;  the  specifying 
attributes  of  the  verb  are  given  by  the  adverb.  Now,  from  the 
great  variety  of  ways  and  circumstances  of  the  performance  of 
actions,  adverbs,  and  adverbial  phrases  and  clauses,  like  adjec- 
rives  and  their  equivalents,  are  necessarily  innumerable. 

17.  Adverbs  of  Manner  are  often  used  to 
express  Degree  :  '  seriously  ',  '  hopelessly  ',  '  pierc- 
ingly ',  '  provokingly 7,  '  inseparably ',  '  inextricably '. 

'  The  patient  is  seriously,  hopelessly  ill '  ;  '  the  air  is  piercingly 
cold '  ;  '  he  was  provokingly  cool ',  '  they  are  inseparably,  inextri- 
cably connected '. 

18.*  The  formation  of  adverbs  from  Parti- 
ciples is  an  elegant  means  of  brevity  :  'provokingly', 
'  knowingly ',  '  avowedly ',  *  invitingly '. 

'  He  was  provokingly  cool '  is  a  short  way  of  giving  the  sense 
of  '  he  was  so  cool  as  to  provoke  one — that  one  could  not  but  feel 
provoked  '.  '  They  broke  the  law  knmcingly  '  is  a  condensation 
for  '  they  broke  the  law,  and  they  knew  that  they  were  doing  so'. 
'  lie  has  avowedly  retracted  his  opinion  ' ;  '  the  door  is  invitingly 
ajar '. 

Substitutes  for  the  Simple  Adverb. 

19.  The  equivalents  of  the  Adverb  in  com- 
position are  phrases  and  clauses. 

(1.)  PLACE.  Phrases:  'I  was  never  in  that  place,  quarter, 
toi'-n,  part  of  the  world,  <6c.'(=  there)';  'at  the  seat  of  judg- 
ment', 'in  the  skies',  'under  the  greenwood  tree '.  Clauses: 
1  wherever  one  goes  (—  everywhere),  one  hears  the  same  story  ' ; 
'  ichere  the  tree  falls,  there  will  it  lie  '  ;  'whither  I  go,  ye  cannot 
come';  '  go  whence  you  came  '.  The  relative  adverbs — 'where', 
'whither',  'whence',  'wheresoever,'  &c. — are  the  connectives 
of  these  clauses  with  the  main  clause,  while  they  also  qualify, 
by  the  attribute  of  place,  the  verb  in  the  dependent  clause. 

(2.)  TIME.  Phrases-.  '  Their  rivalry  is  active  even  to  this  day 
(==.  yet)1',  '  every  two  years  '  (=  biennially)  ;  '  once  on  a  time  ' ; 
'  the  day  before  yesterday ',  '  next  year ',  '  a  century  ago  '. 
Clauses  :  '  while  I  live  (=  ever,  always,  &c. )  I  will  follow  truth  ' ; 
- 1  will  come  when  I  can '  ;  '  the  thing  was  done  before  I  came '. 

These  clauses  are  introduced  either  by  the  relative  adverbs  of 
time — '  ere ',  '  until ',  'when ',  '  while ',  '  whenever  '—or  by  the 


76  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. THE   ADVERB. 

prepositions  '  before  ',  '  after ',  '  since  ',  which  in  this  applica- 
tion govern  clauses,  instead  of  nouns,  but  are  usually  called 
conjunctions. 

(3.)  DEGREE.  Phrases:  'The  scene  was  in  a  singular  degree 
(—  singularly)  romantic '  ;  '  he  is  so  clever  as  to  surprise  one 
(surprisingly  clever) ' ;  '  by  ever  so  little  ',  '  to  a  small  extent ', 
in  a  very  intense  degree  '.  Clauses  :  '  He  is  not  so  careful  as  he 
ought  to  be  (=  careful  enough] ' ;  '  the  rain  was  heavier  then  we 
anticipated — tJmn  could  have  been  anticipated  (=  unexpectedly 
heavy) ' ;  '  the  sea  is  as  d(  ep  as  the  mountains  are  high ' ;  l  as 
tlnj  day  is,  so  shall  thy  strength  be '.  '  As  '  is  the  principal 
word  employed  in  these  clauses.  The  degree  being  expressed 
by  comparison  with  some  other  thing  as  a  standard,  the  connec- 
tive required  is  a  word  or  words  of  comparison  or  proportionality: 
as — as,  as — so,  than,  the  (the  more).  '  He  knows  more  -than  I 
(do) ' ;  '  the  longer  we  live,  the  more  charitable  we  become  '. 

(4.)  BELIEF  and  DISBELIEF.  Phrases:  'Beyond  doubt  (= 
undoubtedly,  doubtless) ',  '  with  the  highest  certainty  ',  '  with 
great  hesitation  ' ;  to  confess  the  truth  (=  truly,  indeed,  certainly, 
&c.),  I  do  not  like  him. '  Clauses:  If  my  life  depended  on  it, 
I  would  maintain  my  opinion  '  ;  '  I  am  as  certain  as  if  I  had 
scon  it  (=  perfectly  certain) '.  Clauses  of  Belief  and  Disbelief 
are  introduced  by  forms  for  Degree. 

CONDITION,  UNCERTAINTY.  'The  King  could  not  legislate 
without  the  consent  of  his  Parliament  (phrase) — unless  (or 
except)  his  Parliament  consented,  if  his  Parliament  did  not 
t -  ntsent '  (clause).  Conditional  conjs.  introduce  these  clauses. 

(5.)  CAUSE  and  EFFECT. 

CAUSE.  Phrases :  '  For  what  purpose  (=  why)  are  you  doing 
this  ? '  '  owing  to  these  causes  (—hence,  therefore,  &c.)  the  enter- 
prise failed  '  ;  'by  the  action  of  the  sun,'  '  by  force  of  kindness,' 
'by  the  influence  of  the  government*.  Clauses:  'The  crops 
are  bad,  because  the  spring  was  ungenial ' ;  'we  lost  the  fight, 
because  our  numbers  were  reduced '.  The  conjunction  '  because', 
and  its  equivalents  (inasmuch  as,  by  reason  that,  &c. )  are  the 
connecting  links  in  this  kind  of  clause. 

EFFECT.  Phrases  :  'To  his  own  hurt,'  'with  the  highest 
success  (=  most  successfully) '.  Clauses  :  '  He  stood  his  ground, 
so  that  at  last  he  triumphed  '. 

(6.)  MANNER  generally.  The  phrases  and  combinations  for 
this  purpose  are  innumerable.  'In  a  manful  way',  &c.  The 
clauses  are  introduced  by  the  relative  or  connecting  adverb  '  as', 
upon  the  same  principle  of  comparison  as  that  involved  in 
degree.  '  He  behaved  as  if  his  all  had  been  at  stake ' ;  '  he  falls 
to  such  perusal  of  my  face  as  he  would  draw  it '. 


ADVERBIAL    EQUIVALENTS.  77 

20.  Other  Parts  of  Speech  are  occasionally 
used  as  Adverbs. 

Nouns  :  ' He  sent  the  man  home'  (place) ;  'he  goes 
to-morrow'  (on  the  morrow)  (time);  'he  cares  not  a 
groat'  (degree).  'Skin  deep',  'town  made',  ' stone  dead'. 

This  is  not  an  unfrequent  usage.  "We  can  explain  it  by  the 
abbreviation  of  the  adverbial  phrases,  '  on  the  morrow  ',  '  to  his 
house,  or  home  ',  '  so  much  as  a  groat,  &c. 

Pronouns  occasionally  serve  as  Adverbs:  'what 
(  =  why)  should  he  labour  1 '  *  somewhat  large '  (Scotch 
'  some  large ') ;  '  none  the  worse ';  '  I  will  not  do  this 
either '. 

Adjectives  often  appear  to  stand  where  Adverbs 
might  be  expected ;  as  '  drink  deep ',  '  the  green  trees 
whispered  soft  and  low ', '  this  looks  strange ',  l  standing 
erect '. 

"We  have  also  examples  of  one  adjective  qualifying  another 
adjective,  as  '  wide  open  ',  '  red  hot ',  '  the  pale  blue  sky '. 
Sometimes  the  corresponding  adverb  is  used,  but  with  a  different 
meaning  ;  as  '  I  found  the  way  easy— easily1  ;  '  it  appears  clear 
— clearly'.  Although  there  is  a  propriety  in  the  employment 
of  the  adjective  in  certain  instances,  yet  such  forms  as  '  indif- 
ferent well ',  '  extreme  bad  ',  are  grammatical  errors.  '  He  was 
interrogated  relative  to  that  circumstance  ',  should  be  relatively, 
or  in  relation  to.  It  is  not  unusual  to  say  '  I  would  have  done 
it  independent  of  that  circumstance  ',  but  independently  is  the 
proper  construction. 

The  employment  of  Adjectives  for  Adverbs  is  accounted  for  by 
the  following  considerations  : 

(1.)  In  the  classical  languages  the  neuter  adjective  may  be 
used  as  an  adverb,  and  the  analogy  would  appear  to  have  been 
extended  to  English. 

(2.)  In  the  oldest  English,  the  adverb  was  regularly  formed 
from  the  adjective  by  adding  '  e  ',  as  '  soft,  softe ',  and  the  drop- 
ping of  the  'e'  left  the  adverb  in  the  adjective  form;  thus  'clcene', 
adverb,  became  '  clean ',  and  appears  in  the  phrase  '  clean 
gone  '  ;  'fceste,  fast ',  '  to  stick  fast '.  By  a  false  analogy, 
many  adjectives  that  never  formed  adverbs  in  -e  were  freely  used 
as  adverbs  in  the  age  of  Elizabeth  :  'Thou  didst  it  excellent', 
'  equal  (for  equally)  good  ',  '  excellent  well '.  This  gives  pre- 
cedent for  such  errors  as  those  mentioned  above. 


78  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION. 

(3.)  There  are  cases  where  the  subject  is  qualified  rather  than 
the  verb,  as  with  verbs  of  incomplete  predication,  '  being ' 
'  seeming ',  '  arriving  ',  &c.  In  '  the  matter  seems  clear  ', 
'  clear  '  is  part  of  the  predicate  of  '  matter  '.  '  They  arrived 
safe  '  ;  '  sate '  does  not  qualify  '  arrived ',  but  goes  with  it  to 
complete  the  predicate.  So  :  '  he  sat  silent ',  '  he  stood  firm '. 
1  It  comes  beautiful ',  and  'it  comes  beautifully',  have  different 
meanings.  This  explanation  applies  especially  to  the  use  of 
participles  as  adverbs,  as  in  Southey's  lines  on  Lodore  ;  the 
participial  epithets  applied  there,  although  appearing  to  modify 
'  came  ',  are  really  additional  predications  about  '  the  water  ',  in 
elegantly  shortened  form.  '  The  church  stood  gleaming  through 
the  trees  ';  '  gleaming  '  is  a  shortened  predicate  of  '  church  '  ; 
and  the  full  form  would  be  :  '  the  church  stood  and  gleamed  '. 
The  participle  retains  its  force  as  such,  while  acting  the  part 
of  a  coordinating  adjective,  complement  to  '  stood '  :  '  stood 
.gleaming'  is  little  more  than  'gleamed'.  The  feeling  of 
! adverbial  force  in  'gleaming  '  arises  from  the  subordinate  parti- 
cipial form  joined  with  a  verb,  '  stood ',  that  seems  capable  of 
predicating  by  itself.  '  Passing  strange  '  is  elliptical ;  '  passing 
(surpassing)  what  is  strange '. 

Verbs  J  as  '  smack  went  the  whip '; '  he  let  it  go  bang 
at  the  window ';  a  very  rare  usage, 

Prepositions  ;  as  'I  told  you  before1;  'I  have  not 
met  him  since ';  '  we  never  trusted  them  after '. 


THE  PREPOSITION. 
Definition. 

I.  A  Preposition  is  a  word  prefixed  to  a 
Noun  or  its  equivalent  to  make  up  a  quali- 
fying or  adverb  phrase: — 'Send  the  parcel  to 
town,  in  the  evening,  by  us/ 

The  action  of  sending  the  parcel  is  limited  by  three  adverb 
phrases  ;  and  the  word  used  in  each  that  goes  with  the  noun  or 
pronoun  to  make  the  phrase,  is  a  distinct  part  of  speech,  called 
the  Preposition  :  '  to  ',  '  in ',  '  by  ',  are  prepositions. 

This  is  the  only  definition  that  effectually  separates  preposi- 
tions from  conjunctions.  A  conjunction  could  not  be  used  with 
•a  noun  to  make  a  qualifying  phrase.  We  could  not  say — *  Send 
•the  parcel  i/'town,  though  the  evening,  or  us '. 


CASE-PREPOSITIONS.  79 

The  regular  place  of  a  preposition  is  between  a  verb  and  a 
noun  : — '  taken  by  force  '.  Where  one  noun  is  connected  with 
another  by  a  preposition,  there  is  usually  a  contraction  : — '  We 
went  from  house  to  house  ',  '  we  went /row  (one)  house,  and  we 
went  to  (another)  house  '.  '  Your  Father  in  heaven  '  ;  '  your 
Father  who  dwells  in  heaven  '. 

Sometimes  a  preposition  is  joined  with  an  adverb  (see  NOUN, 
§  21 )  :  'until  now  (=  the  present  time) ',  '  for  ever  (=  all  time) ', 
'  from  abroad  ',  '  not  above  once  or  twice ',  '  by  to-morrow  '. 

In  such  expressions  as  '  in  all ',  '  in  brief  \  *  for  good  ',  '  at 
last  ',  '  for  better  ',  '  for  worse  ',  prepositions  are  combined  with 
adjectives,  instead  of  nouns.  The  ellipsis  of  the  noun  is  obvious. 

Case-Prepositions. 

2.  Certain    Prepositions   specially   corres- 
pond  to   the   case-endings   of  nouns  in   the 
classical  languages;  these  are — 'of,  'to',  'for', 
'  from ',  '  by ',  '  with '. 

3.  Of  corresponds  to  the  possessive  case  in  English, 
and  the  genitive  case  in  other  languages. 

As  the  possessive  inflection  is  used  only  in  a  small  number  of 
nouns,  and  not  uniformly  in  those,  we  are  dependent  on  this 
preposition  for  conveying  the  meaning  of  the  possessive  case. 

'Of  expresses  a  variety  of  relations,  which  may  be 
traced  up  to  a  common  source.  The  original  import 
of  the  root  was  'from',  'separation',  'proceeding  from', 
which  easily  led  to  the  meaning  now  most  generally 
signified,  namely,  '  belonging  to '  or  '  referring  to '. 
For  example,  the  '  force  of  the  wind '  means  a  property 
proceeding  from  the  wind,  or  manifested  by  it,  and 
therefore  inhering  in  it,  or  belonging  to  it. 

(1.)  The  partitive  meaning.  'Of  is  used  to 
relate  the  part  of  anything  to  the  whole:  'the  wing  of 
the  eagle ',  '  the  walls  of  the  town ',  '  the  banks  of  the 
river '. 

Any  complicated  object  may  be  considered  as  made  up  of  its 
parts.  A  house  has  a  foundation,  walls,  a  roof,  doors,  windows, 
rooms,  &c.  ;  these  are  its  parts,  or  mechanical  divisions.  Any 


80  PARTS    OP   SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION. 

one  of  these  being  specified,  we  signify  that  it  belongs  to  the 
house  by  the  preposition  'of:  'the  roof  of  the  house  '. 

So  we  may  say  *  the  army  of  Britain ',  '  the  children  of  the 
family  ',  '  the  property  of  the  corporation '.  These  are  all 
separable  parts  of  the  wholes  that  they  severally  belong  to. 

A  fraction  or  division  of  a  total  is  expressed  by  '  of '  on  the 
same  principle  :  '  a  third  of  the  proceeds '  ;  '  few  of  the  host 
survived  '  ;  'a  tithe  of  all  he  possessed '  ;  '  one  ninth  of  the 
remainder'.  Hence  the  adjectives  of  fullness  or  want  are 
naturally  followed  by  '  of '  ;  '  full  of  compassion,  of  hope  '  ; 
'  destitute  of  clothes,  of  money,  o/all  things  '. 

(2.)  The  attributive  meaning.  'Of  is  used 
to  connect  an  abstract  property,  or  quality,  with  the 
concrete  ;  as  '  the  strength  of  the  lion ',  '  the  lightness 
of  air ',  '  the  temper  of  steel '. 

There  is  a  second  mode  of  conceiving  a  complex  or  concrete 
object,  namely,  as  made  up  of  properties,  or  attributes,  insepar- 
able from  the  object,  except  in  thought.  Thus  we  may  speak 
•of  the  length  of  a  room,  but  we  cannot  cut  off  the  length  from 
the  other  dimensions  and  properties.  We  cannot  separate  the 
weight,  the  colour,  the  value,  of  gold  from  the  rest  of  the 
qualities.  These  are  called  abstract  qualities  ;  they  are  spoken 
of  in  language  as  inhering  in  the  total,  or  the  concrete ;  and 
when  any  one  of  them  is  specified,  the  preposition  'of  is  the 
connecting  word  :  as  '  the  sweetness  of  honey  ',  '  the  shape  of 
the  mountain  ',  '  the  colour  of  the  snow  ' . 

These  two  meanings  are  simple  and  intelligible,  being  two 
modes  of  the  same  general  idea  of  '  possession  ',  '  property ',  or 
'  belonging  '.  But  we  find  other  meanings  apparently  very 
remote  from  this  leading  idea. 

(3.)  The  reference  meaning.  ' Of '  m.ay  serve 
•to  specify  a  subject  or  make  a  reference;  as  'the  Book 
of  Proverbs'.  Here  'Proverbs'  indicates  the  subject 
that  the  *  book '  refers  to.  '  The  love  of  our  neighbour '; 
love  with  regard  to,  or  directed  upon,  a  certain  party 
specified  as  our  neighbour.  '  Of  man's  first  disobedi- 
ence— sing,  heavenly  Muse '. 

This  meaning  may  have  grown  up  thus.  If  we  say  '  a  book 
of  problems ',  we  may  be  understood  as  implying,  that  of  the 
whole  class  of  things  named  problems,  as  much  is  taken  as  will 
make  a  book, — literally,  'a  bookful  of  problems  '.  'A  treatise 
of  geometry ',  is  a  portion  of  the  whole  subject  of  geometry, 


MEANINGS   OP    t  OF  '.  81 

taken  and  included  in  a  treatise.  The  meaning  of  reference 
would  thus  be  a  branch  of  the  partitive  meaning.  It  is  to  be 
noticed,  however,  that  this  application  of  the  word  is  not  so  fre- 
quent now  as  formerly.  We  prefer  '  on  '  to  '  of '  in  specifying  a 
subject  under  discussion  :  as  '  on  geometry ',  '  on  plants ',  &c. 
'  The  love  of  our  neighbour '  is  ambiguous  if  we  allow  it  to 
mean  '  towards  our  neighbour '.  Properly  this  should  be 
interpreted  (attributively)  '  the  love  manifested  by  our  neigh- 
bour to  us '  ;  for  the  other  case  we  should  use  '  to '  :  '  love  to 
God  ',  '  love  to  man  '.  In  the  phrase  '  the  fear  of  God  ',  the 
meaning  of  reference  is  exclusively  involved  ;  the  '  fear '  is  a 
passion  belonging  properly  to  us,  and  is  indicated  by  the 
possessive  of  the  person,  '  man's  fear ',  -'  the  wicked's  fear ' ; 
but  there  must  be  an  object  to  the  passion,  some  one  who,  as  it 
were,  shares  the  property  of  it ;  there  is  an  attribute  belonging 
to  God  that  inspires  the  fear,  and  this  probably  leads  to  our 
employing  'of  in  order  to  indicate  this  object. 

'  Sing  of  man's  first  disobedience  '  is  '  let  your  song  arise  o\vt 
of—  and  hence  take  for  its  subject,  be  in  reference  to— man's 
first  disobedience  '.  'Tell  me  truly  what  thou  think' st  of  him  '; 
— that  is,  '  about,  regarding  him  '. 

Such  a  phrase  as  '  a  common  of  turbary ',  is  a  pure  case  of 
reference  ;  the  acceptation  is  '  a  common  in  so  far  as  regards  the 
right  of  cutting  turf.  '  Right  of  pasturage  '  is  a  '  right  having 
reference  to  pasturage  '. 

(4.)  The  Adjective  meaning.  The  Preposition, 
with  its  Noun,  has  often  the  force  of  an  Adjective  ;  as 
'a  crown  of  gold',  for  'a  golden  crown';  'an  act  of 
grace '  (a  gracious  act) ;  *  a  pearl  of  great  price '  (a 
precious  pearl). 

This  too  might  be  explained  on  the  partitive  principle.  'A 
crown  of  gold '  we  may  interpret  as  meaning  the  quantity  of 
gold  taken  and  employed  to  make  up  a  crown.  In  '  a  man  of 
courage  ',  we  may  imagine  that  of  the  courage  contained  in  the 
world  a  certain  portion  is  represented  as  inhering  in  a  man,  —a 
man  filled  or  supplied  with  courage.  This  construction  is  the 
chief  example  of  the  adjective  phrase. 

(5.)  The  Apposition  meaning.  Nouns  in  appo- 
sition are  sometimes  connected  by  '  of ';  as  *  the  city  of 
Amsterdam  \  '  this  affair  of  the  mutiny ',  '  a  monster 
of  a  man ',  '  the  crime  of  murder '. 

'  The  city  of  London '  is  strictly  partitive,  inasmuch  as  the 
city  is  a  part  of  London  ;  but  *  the  town  of  Berlin '  is  an  ex- 

6 


82  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION, 


ample  of  apposition,  '  the  town,  Berlin  '.     It  is  n< 
apply  this  form  indiscriminately  :  *  the  river  of 


not  allowable  to 
Jordan  '  is  an 
error. 

'  This  affair  of  the  mutiny '  is  the  same  as  '  this  affair,  namely, 
the  mutiny '.  We  may  perhaps  consider  the  present  case  as  a 
further  application  of  the  meaning  of  reference.  '  A  brute  of 
a  dog '  is  colloquial  English,  and  may  be  interpreted  as  a  case 
of  apposition,  or  predication,  '  a  dog  that  is  a  brute  '. 

'  The  winter  of  our  discontent '  is  a  Shakespearian  figure,  indi- 
cating apposition. 

Additional  examples.  '  To  ask  a  favour  of,  '  to  rid  one's  self 
of,  'to  cure  a  man  of,  '  delivered  of  a  child '  ('  woes ',  '  danger  ' 
— Shak.},  are  examples  of  the  employment  of  the  preposition 
in  its  primary  sense  of  '  proceeding  from '.  '  He  rejoiceth  more  of 
that  sheep  than  of  the  ninety  and  nine  which  went  not  astray  ' ; 

*  I  will  not  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  '  ;  '  to  die  of  hunger  '. 

In  the  expression  '  of  necessity '  we  have  the  equivalent  of  the 
adverb  '  necessarily '.  It  may  be  explained  as  '  something 
belonging  to  or  proceeding  from  necessity '.  Shakespeare  says 
'  of  force  ',  where  we  should  say  '  perforce  '.  So,  '  of  course  ', 

*  of  consequence ',  '  of  a  truth  '. 

Agency  or  cause  was  often  expressed  by  'of  about  the  time 
of  Elizabeth  :  '  received  of  (for  '  by ')  Edward  ',  '  the  observed 
of  all  observers ',  '  understanded  of  the  people ',  *  ye  shall  be 
hated  of  all  men  ',  '  seen  of  all  the  apostles '. 

This  application  remains  in  the  exceedingly  common  case 
where  the  action,  naturally  expressed  by  a  verb,  is  expressed  by 
a  noun.  '  The  baptism  of  John  '  gives  in  the  form  of  a  noun 
(with  adjunct)  the  fact  that  '  John  baptized  ',  and  the  agent  or 
subject  is  connected  with  the  action  by  '  of '.  In  the  same  way, 
'  the  war  party  agitated '  is  turned,  for  being  conveniently 
spoken  about,  into  '  the  agitation  of  the  war  party  '  ;  and  *  of* 
is  used  as  in  the  preceding  example. 

Again,  the  object,  as  well  as  the  subject,  of  an  action  is  simi- 
larly connected  with  the  transmuted  verb  by  '  of '.  We  may 
say  '  Caesar  conquered  Gaul ',  and  then  speak  of  this  fact  as 

*  Csesar's  conquest  of  Ganl ' ;  the  verb  being  transmuted  into  a 
verbal  noun,  with  which  the  object  is  kept  connected  by  *  of '. 
'  Columbus  discovered  America ' — '  the  discovery  of  America '  ; 
'  Gutenberg  invented  printing' — 'the  invention  of  printing'; 
'  England  lost  Calais ' — '  the  loss  of  Calais '  ;  '  to  destroy  a  city' 
— '  the  destruction  of  a  city  '. 

In  '  the  Earl  of  Mar '  we  have  an  exact  case  of  partition  ;  for 
although  such  titles  are  now  mere  names,  they  were  not  always 
so.  Mar  was  a  great  district  of  country  containing  many  con- 
stituent elements,  physical  and  moral ;  among  these  was  its 


'OF'  AND  'TO'.  83 

chief,  or  Earl :  so  that  '  the  Earl  of  Mar '  was  a  correct  form  on 
the  partitive  principle,  no  less  than  '  the  district,  the  people, 
the  wealth,  the  history,  &c.,  o/Mar  '.  'The  Queen  of  England', 
the  '  Town  Clerk  of  Leeds ',  are  exactly  parallel.  The  same 
principle  will  explain  '  Doctor  of  medicine ',  '  Teacher  of 
music  ',  '  Dean  of  Guild  ',  '  Master  of  the  Rolls '.  Every  one  of 
these  supposes  a  collective  institution,  made  up  of  many 
elements,  or  parts,  and  of  these  one  is  specified :  Medicine  is  a 
whole,  containing  its  science,  its  methods,  and  among  the  rest, 
its  doctors. 

In  comparing  the  expressions  '  a  bust  of  Cicero '  and  '  a  bust 
of  Cicero's  ',  we  can  farther  illustrate  the  uses  of  the  preposition. 
In  the  second  case  it  has  the  partitive  signification  ;  the  meaning 
is  '  a  bust  of  Cicero's  collection  of  busts '  ;  in  the  other  it  is  an 
example  of  reference — '  a  bust  whose  subject  is  Cicero'. 

'  A  play  of  Shakespeare  '  is  also  partitive  ;  a  man's  productions 
are  considered  as  a  part  of  his  collective  personality. 

'  The  better  of  it  is  not  so  good  as  '  the  better  for  it '.  '  My 
uncle  Toby's  heart  was  a  pound  lighter  for  it.' 

4.  To.  The  primary  idea  of  motion  in  the  direc- 
tion of  pervades  all  the  applications  of  '  to  '. 

Considering  the  extent  of  its  use,  the  meaning  of  '  to '  is 
remarkably  uniform.  It  is  pointedly  contrasted  with  '  from  ', 
as  in  the  phrase  '  to  and  fro  '.  '  He  went  to  the  house  ',  '  leave 
that  to  me  ',  '  add  to  your  faith  ',  '  duty  to  our  parents  ',  '  to 
arms ',  '  glory  to  God  ',  are  obvious  instances.  Among  the  more 
remote  applications  are  to  be  found  such  phrases  as  '  pleasant  to 
the  taste ',  '  to  one's  hand  ',  'ten  to  one ',  '  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred ',  '  to  all  intents  and  purposes  ',  '  to  his  honour  be  it 
said  ',  '  done  to  a  cinder ',  '  ye  shall  pay  to  the  last  penny  ',  '  they 

marched  to  the  tune  of ',  '  to  a  Christian,  this  world  is  a 

place  of  trial  and  preparation '.  Even  in  the  examples  where 
motion  '  in  the  direction  of '  is  not  directly  stated,  proximity, 
which  is  the  natural  result,  is  indicated  ;  hence  the  meaning  of 
reference  indicated  in  the  last  example. 

As  the  sign  of  the  infinitive,  '  to '  has  still  the  same  signifi- 
cation. 

It  is  remarked  by  grammarians  that  certain  nouns,  adjectives, 
and  verbs  take  '  to '  after  them,  and  lists  of  such  words  are 
accordingly  given  for  the  guidance  of  the  pupil ;  as,  for  example, 
'  accustom  to  ',  '  adapt  to  ',  '  belong  to  ',  '  equal ',  '  prefer  ', 
'  tend  ',  &c.  But  it  should  be  noticed  that  in  nearly  all  these 
cases  the  intended  meaning  is  answered  by  this  preposition,  and 
would  not  be  so  well  answered  by  any  other.  Thus  the  words 
*  attach',  '  attend ',  '  confirm  ',  '  consecrate  ',  '  listen, ',  '  give , ' 


84  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. THE   PREPOSITION. 

'  tell ',  '  show  ',  '  liken  ',  all  indicate  the  sense  of  approaching 
nearer  to  something,  or  pointing  in  some  one  direction,  which  is 
the  main  signification  of  '  to '.  In  a  few  cases  there  would 
appear  to  be  something  arbitrary  in  the  choice,  and  in  these 
wide  departures  from  the  fundamental  meaning  we  must  look 
upon  the  connexion  as  a  special  idiom  of  the  language,  to  be 
learned  from  usage,  and  not  to  be  inferred  from  the  general 
meaning  of  the  word.  Among  these,  we  may  perhaps  include 
the  following,  '  blind  to  '  (where  '  to '  means  reference),  '  deroga- 
tory to  ',  '  foreign  to ',  '  object  to ',  '  opposite  to  '. 

Such  examples  as  'true  to',  'unknown  to',  'dislike  to', 
'  provoke  to  ',  '  impute  to  ',  '  adapt  to  ',  are  conformable  to  the 
primary  signification. 

We  occasionally  meet  with  violations  of  these  special  usages, 
such  as  '  different  to  ',  for  '  different  from'. 

'  To  take  to  wife  '  is  almost  a  solitary  remnant  of  this  use  of 
'  to  '  ;  =  '  as  ',  '  for  ',  '  in  the  capacity  of '.  '  With  God  to 
friend '  (Spenser)  ;  '  he  hath  a  pretty  young  man  to  his  son ' 
(Bunyan).  '  This  is  nothing  to  what  we  expected '.  The  sense 
of  '  in  comparison  with '  is  easily  reached  from  the  original 
meaning.  '  The  Greeks  are  strong  and  skilful  to  (in  proportion 
to)  their  strength '. 

'  It  is  altered  to  the  better ',  should  be  'for  the  better '. 

Scotticisms :  '  Will  you  buy  a  knife  to  (for)  me ' ;  'I  have  no 
fault  to  (with)  him  '  j  '  I  entertain  no  prejudice  to  (towards)  him'. 

5.  For  is  much  more  complicated  and  various  in  its 
applications.  Originally  connected  with,  'fore',  meaning 
'  in  front  of,  it  has  branched  off  in  different  directions, 
until  the  original  signification  is  frequently  to  all 
appearance  lost  sight  of. 

(1.)  The  chief  meaning  is  'direction,  end,  purpose,  benefit'. 

'  They  set  out  for  their  home  '  ;  '  some  toil  for  money,  others 
for  fame ' ;  '  every  one  for  himself ' ;  '  the  Sabbath  was  made 
for  man  ' ;  'for  this  end  came  I  into  the  world '  ;  '  good  for 
man  '  ;  'oh,  for  a  draught  of  vintage  that  hath  been —  ' ;  'for 
Jesus'  sake '. 

This  meaning  is  brought  out  strongly  by  th.6  contrasting  pre- 
position '  against '  :  '  he  fought  for  his  principles  and  against 
his  interest ' ;  '  for  the  constitution,  and  against  the  king  '.  '  We 
are  for  the  principles  of  good  government  against  Walpole,  and 
for  Walpole  against  the  opposition.' 

The  meaning  of  reference,  seen  in  such  expressions  as  '  so 
much  for  the  first  question  ',  '  bodies  depend  for  their  visibility', 
can  be  traced  to  the  meaning  of  end,  purpose,  benefit. 


APPLICATIONS   OF   '  FOR  '.  85 

"The  old  idiom  now  called  the  gerund  form  of  the  verb,  is  an 
instance  of  this  application  :  '  What  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ? ' 
The  idea  of  end  or  purpose  is  implied  in  this  verbal  construction, 
although  the  *  for  '  is  now  dropped. 

'  For  a  holy  person  to  be  humble,  for  one  whom  all  men 
esteem  as  a  saint,  to  fear  lest  himself  become  a  devil,  is  as  hard 
as  for  a  prince  to  submit  himself  to  be  guided  by  tutors.'  Here 
we  have  a  form  grown  out  of  the  gerund  construction,  with  a 
reference  still  to  the  idea  of  end,  purpose,  or  direction.  This  is 
a  useful  equivalent  of  the  noun  clause  (that  a  holy  person  be 
humble,  that  a  prince  submit  himself,  &c.). 

The  meaning  of  cause,  as  well  as  of  purpose,  readily  con- 
nects itself  with  the  sense  '  in  front  of ' :  '  beheaded  for  treason', 
'  decorated  for  bravery ',  '  could  not  act  for  fear  ',  '  eminent, 
famous  for ',  *  frequented  for  '. 

In  the  phrases  '  six  for  a  penny  ',  '  line  for  line ',  '  measure 
for  measure  ',  we  have  the  meaning  of  exchange,  or  '  return  for  ', 
which  chimes  in  with  the  original  signification.  Perhaps  the 
idea  of  proportionality  in  the  phrase  '  he  is  tall  for  his  years  ', 
is  merely  a  following  out  of  the  same  application.  So  also  '  we 
took  him  for  his  brother ',  where  the  meaning  shades  into  the 
idea  of  comparison  implied  in  'as '. 

'  For  an  hour  ',  'for  a  little ',  'for  once ',  « for  ever ',  represent 
an  apparently  distinct  signification,  although  we  may  suppose  a 
connexion  between  it  and  the  primary  meaning  '  in  front  of '. 

(2.)  '  For '  means  '  notwithstanding  ', '  in  spite  of ',  a  meaning 
not  readily  connected  with  the  foregoing.  '  For  all  this,  they 
still  proceed'  ;  '  for  all  his  wealth,  he  was  not  content';  ffor 
anything  to  the  contrary';  ffor  all  that.'  "We  may  suppose 
the  connexion  to  arise  from  the  circumstance  that  men  often 
fail  in  their  enterprises,  although  possessing  the  usual  means  of 
success,  and  that  the  word  implies  the  presence  of  the  means, 
according  to  its  original  force,  'in  front  of,  and  yet  allows  us 
to  infer  that  the  end  was  not  gained,  '  For  all  his  wealth — 
with  all  his  wealth  in  front  of  him— the  natural  consequences 
did  not  follow  in  h:3  case '.  (Compare  the  uses  of  '  with  '.) 

Of  the  list  of  words  given  as  properly  followed  by  *  for ',  the 
greater  number  have  their  meaning  suited  by  this  preposition, 
while  with  a  few  it  has  no  special  appropriateness.  Thus  '  care 
for',  'sail  for',  'work  for',  '  design  for',  'good  for',  'prepared 
for',  '  substitute  for  ',  '  thankful  for  ',  'answer  for',  'occasion 
for  ',  '  esteem  for  ',  are  all  in  accord  with  the  principal  meaning 
above  given. 

'  He  was  accused  for ',  is  a  Scotticism  for  'accused  '.  So, 
'  there  is  much  need  for  it ' — '  need  of  it '  is  the  correct  phrase  ; 


86  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. —THE   PREPOSITION. 

'  burst  for  (with)  laughing  ' ;  '  insists  for  (on)  it '  j  'he  called 
for  (on)  me  '  ;  'died  for  (of)  thirst '. 

'  To '  and  '  for '  correspond  to  what  is  called  the  dative  case  of  the 
classical  languages,  although  they  have  a  far  wider  range  of  meaning 
than  could  be  expressed  by  that  inflexion.  Our  so-called  objective  forms 
—me,  thee,  him,  her,  them— are,  in  their  origin,  datives,  and  this  signifi- 
cation still  to  a  certain  extent  adheres  to  them. 

6.  From  ;    *  forth ',    '  forwards ',    '  beginning  at ', 
£  proceeding  away.'     <  From  door  to  door ',  'from  Dan 
to  Beersheba',  'from  home',  'from  earth  to  heaven'. 

The  original  reference  to  place  is  widely  departed  from  in  the 
use  of  the  preposition,  but  the  more  general  idea  of  '  direction 
from  '  is  in  the  main  preserved. 

The  application  to  time  is  seen  in  'from  morn  to  noon,  from 
noon  to  dewy  eve ',  'from  my  youth  up ',  'from  age  to  age '. 

Anything  that  indicates  a  source,  origin,  or  commencement, 
may  be  preceded  by  '  from '.  'He  rose  from  the  ranks,  from, 
ohscuritjr ',  &c.  ;  '  authority  emanates  from,  the  sovereign  '  ; 
'  won/rora  the  enemy  ' ;  '  snatched  from  the  flames  ' ;  '  the  song 
began  from  Jove  ' ;  'we  must  probe  the  story  from  first  to  last '. 
Hence  it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  '  turn  away  ',  '  quit ',  '  leave ', 
'  abandon '.  '  He  fled  from  the  city  of  destruction  ' ;  '  shrinking 
from  the  picture  of  distress  '. 

Also  remoteness  and  privation  ;  as  'ab?^nt/rom  my  sight* ; 
'  remote  from  cities'  ;  '  far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble 
strife '  ;  'from  thee  to  die  were  torture  more  than  death '. 

It  likewise  follows  words  implying  deliverance,  release,  &c.  : 
'  released  from  his  vow '. 

So,  separation,  abstraction,  destruction,  are  indicated  by  the 
same  preposition,  and  with  a  like  adherence  to  the  main  and 
primary  import. 

Motive  or  reason  may  be  expressed  by  '  from ' ;  *  they  acted 
from  no  unworthy  motive ',  'from  gratitude  ',  'from  fear  '. 

Imitation  is  a  sense  closely  connected  with  the  original : 
'  Kneller  is  said  to  have  painted  the  figure  and  hands  of  ladies 
from  his  housemaid.  .  .  He  copied  from  the  life  only 
glaring  and  obvious  peculiarities '.  (Macaulay). 

Errors. — '  It  is  inferior  from  (should  be  to)  what  I  expected '; 
'  different  to  that ',  should  be /row. 

7.  By.     The  primary  meaning  seems  to  be  '  about', 
'  alongside  of ',  *  proximity  '.     '  He  sat  by  the  river ', 
'  by  the  tree ',  *  hard  by  the  oracles  of  God  ',  '  inhabited 


•FROM',  'BY',  'WITH*.  87 

by  the  great '.  The  other  meanings  grow  out  of  this  by 
natural  transitions. 

Thus,  defence  of,  help  :  '  stand  by  me  '. 

Agency,  instrumentality,  cause :  '  eaten  by  wolves ',  '  main- 
tained by  the  public  ',  '  watched  by  angels ',  '  shaken  by  the 
wind  '.  Shakespeare  uses  '  with  '  in  this  sense  :  '  here  is  himself, 
marred,  as  you  see,  with  traitors'  ;  we  should  now  say  'by 
traitors  '.  '  We  hope  to  gain  by  you ' ;  '  seize  him  by  force  '  ; 
'  by  intelligence  man  raises  his  condition ' ;  'the  power  of 
speaking  well  should  be  aimed  at  by  all '  ;  '  to  know  by  heart '. 

Words  of  measuring  take  '  by  '  after  them  from  the  circum- 
stance that  the  things  measured  have  to  be  put  side  by  side  : 
'  greater  by  half '  ;  '  measure  your  desires  by  your  fortunes,  not 
your  fortunes  by  your  desires  '  ',  '  by  the  rule  'and  the  square  '  ; 
4  it  was  sold  by  the  ounce  '. 

In  phrases  of  distribution,  such  as  *  one  by  one  ',  '  house  by 
house  ',  '  to  do  things  by  halves ',  we  have  still  the  same  idea. 
'They  came  by  hundreds  '  is  a  somewhat  loose  a] 'plication  ;  '  in 
hundreds '  is  perhaps  less  frequent  in  good  English. 

The  employment  of  the  preposition  with  nouns  of  time  illus- 
trates the  general  signification  :  '  by  this  time  they  are  far  away', 
that  is  '  alongside  of,  or  at  this  time ' ;  '  by  the  commencement 
of  spring ' ;  '  by  sunrise  '. 

This  is  the  preposition  of  adjuration,  a  purpose  still  conform- 
able to  the  primary  meaning  :  '  by  all  that  we  hold  dear '  is 
'  standing  by,  and  under  the  love  or  fear  or  influence  of '. 

8.  With.  The  radical  notion  involved  in  'with' 
appeals  to  be  '  towards  ',  'joining  or  uniting'.  In  old 
English  we  find  '  with — ward ',  like  '  to — ward  '  (*  to 
us  ward',  &c.). 

The  meaning  of  opposition  or  contest  comes  readily  from  the 
main  root,  seeing  that  combatants  must  come  into  close  contact. 
'  With  ',  in  old  English,  was  much  used  in  this  sense  ;  in  com- 
pounds it  has  always  this  meaning  :  '  withstand.  '.  The  meaning 
of  '  in  spite  of '  may  be  explained  in  the  same  way  as  the  ad  ver- 
sa tive  use  of  'for'.  '  With  all  his  learning,  he  had  but  little 
pi  udence '. 

Company  or  companionship  is  a  very  natural  application  :  'he 
travelled  with  me  for  some  days ' ;  '  there  is  no  living  with 
such  neighbours  ' ;  'he  came  with  the  first  and  remained  with- 
the  last '  ;  ' his  servant  was  with-  him '  ;  'he  kindled  with, 
rage'.  *I  will  buy  i<:ith  you,  sell  u-ith  you,  talk  withyou,  walk 


88  PARTS   0$  SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION. 

with  you,  and  so  following  ;  but  I  will  not  eat  with  you,  drink 
with  you,  nor  pray  with  you '  :  *  with  Ate  by  his  side '. 
Possession  is  readily  implied  in  union:  'with  the  hope  of  is 
the  same  as  '  having  the  hope  of  ;  so  '  with  a  view  to ',  '  with 
power  to ',  '  with  regard  to  '. 

From  union  or  companionship  comes  cause,  instrumentality, 
means  :  '  fed  with  the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons ' ; 
'  paved  with  gold  ',  '  enriched  with  knowledge  ',  '  elated  with 
joy  ',  '  filled  with  wine  ',  '  planted  with  firs ',  '  wearied  with 
much  study ',  '  with  meditating  that  he  must  die  once '. 
(Shakespeare. ) 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  agent,  or  prime  mover,  in  an  effect, 
more  usually  takes  '  by  '  after  it ;  but  the  instrument  that  the 
agent  employs  is  expressed  by  '  with '  ;  '  the  field  was  dug  by 
the  labourer  with  his  spade '.  '  By '  is  the  preposition  that 
follows  the  passive  voice  to  express  personal  agency  :  '  tried  by 
his  peers '. 

'  With  '  is  also  used  for  immediately  after,  the  connexion  of 
ideas  being  apparent  :  '  with  this,  he  pointed  to  his  face  '. 

Errors. — 'They  quarrelled  among  each  other',  should  be 
'  with  each  other  ' ;  '  agreeably  with  (to)  their  instructions ' ; 
'  he  is  not  yet  reconciled  with  (to)  me '  ;  '  prevailed  with 
(upon) ' ;  '  good-bye  with  (to)  you  ',  or  'good-bye  '. 

*  From  ',  '  by ',  and  '  with  ',  are  prepositions  corresponding  to 
the  ablative  case  in  Latin.  In  Greek,  which  has  no  ablative, 
the  genitive  and  dative  are  taken  instead,  or  the  corresponding 
prepositions  are  used. 

The  employing  of  these  detached  words  is  more  conducive  to 
variety  and  precision  than  the  case  inflexions.  Nevertheless  it 
is  proper  to  signalize  the  relations  that  the  old  languages  have 
thought  fit  to  express  by  cases,  as  being  in  all  probability  those 
of  most  frequent  occurrence  and  of  greatest  importance.  We 
; shall  now  enumerate  the  entire  body  of  prepositions  under 
different  heads,  according  to  their  meanings. 

Classes  of  Prepositions. 
9  I.  Place.  Under  place,  we  have  (1.)  Rest  in 
(the' where),  as  '  in  ',  <  on  ',  '  at ',  '  near  ',  '  by '.  (2.) 
Motion  with  direction  (the  whence  and  the  whither), 
'  to ',  '  into  ',  '  unto  ',  '  towards  '  (up,  down),  *  from  '. 
(3.)  Place  and  direction,  '  on  ',  '  over  ',  *  under  ', 
'  through  ',  '  behind  ',  '  between  ',  '  among  ',  '  upon  ', 
'near ',  '  off ',  '  across  ',  «  beyond  ',  l  abaft ',  '  above  '. 


PREPOSITIONS   OP   PLACE.  89 

10.  1.  Rest  in. 

In  is  the  chief  preposition  of  rest  in,  or  the  where; 
it  is  closely  connected  with  '  on  '. 

The  primary  force  of  the  word  is  maintained  throughout  the 
many  applications  of  it.  The  idea  of  '  being  contained '  is  seen 
even  when  place  is  not  the  subject  under  consideration.  '  In 
summer  ',  '  in  a  deep  slumber  ',  '  immersed  in  worldly  affairs  ', 
'  employed  in  carrying  ',  '  in  the  power  of  the  enemy ',  '  in  joy 
and  in  sorrow  ',  '  versed  in  languages',  '  persevere  in  his  design  ', 
'  involved  in  ruin  '. 

The  phrases  '  in  fact ',  *  in  truth  !,  '  in  that ',  '  inasmuch  as  ', 
'in  the  event  of,  'in  vain',  'in  all',  indicate  no  essential 
departure  from  the  primary  import.  '  In  the  name  of ',  used  in 
invocation  or  adjurat  on,  may  be  supposed  to  mean  'resting 
upon  or  clothed  with  the  name  or  authority  of '. 

The  old  writers  often  used  *  in  '  for  '  into  '  ;  '  cast  yourself  in 
wonder'.  The  familiar  phrases  'fallw  love ',  'call  in  question', 
'  dash  in  pieces  ',  &c. ,  remain  as  examples  of  the  usage. 

Scot.     '  He  gave  me  a  book  in  (as)  a  present '. 

On.  For  the  most  part,  *  on '  falls  under  the  third  class 
(place  and  direction) ;  but  it  is  often  an  equivalent  of  'in-',  as 
signifying  merely  rest.  '  Chi  a  rock,  ...  the  poet  stood ' ; 
*  the  book  is  on  the  table '. 

At.  The  same  as  '  near '  or  '  close  by  * :  '  at  the 
house '  may  mean  simply  '  near  or  by  the  house '. 

Although  thus  coinciding  in  its  primary  meaning  with  '  by  ', 
it  differs  from  '  by '  in  not  being  extended  to  signify  causation 
or  agency,  except  in  a  very  limited  way  :  '  at  the  instigation 
(recommendation,  &c.,)  of  ;  'we  suffered  much  at  their  hands'. 

Besides  closeness,  '  at '  may  imply  in  the  direction  of;  as  '  to 
fire  at  a  mark '  ;  'to  glance  at  a  question '  ;  'to  laugh  at ', 
'  wonder  at ',  '  bark  at ',  '  work  at ',  '  get  at ',  '  come  at '. 

Applied,  to  time,  it  signifies  a  point  or  moment  of  time  :  '  at 
present ',  '  at  the  stroke  of  nine  ',  '  at  noon  ',  '  at  midnight '. 

There  is  a  distinction  between  '  at '  and  '  in,  '  as  signifying 
place  ;  we  say  '  at  the  market  cross ',  '  at  the  fountain ',  but 
'  in  the  town  ',  '  in  France  ',  '  in  America  ' ;  the  one  being  a 
limited  object,  which  we  may  stand  close  by,  but  the  other  a 
more  extended  surface,  which  we  are  contained  in.  In  some 
cases  both  are  applicable  :  '  at,  or  in  school  or  church  '  ;  but  we 
must  say  '  at  home  '. 

The  phrases  involving  *  at '  are  in  keeping  with  the  general 
signification,  although  some  of  them  constitute  peculiar  idioms': 


90  PARTS   OP   SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION. 

1  at  peace ',  '  at  war  ',  '  at  play ',  '  at  the  price  of ',  '  at  a  loss ', 
'  at  fault ',  '  at  hand  ',  '  at  issue  ',  '  at  variance  ',  'at  liberty  ', 
'  at  an  end  ',  '  at  best ',  '  at  all ',  '  at  large  ',  '  at  full  speed  '. 
Scot.  '  Angry  at  (with)  him  '  ;  '  hatred  at  (to  or  against)  '  ; 
'  ask,  inquire  at  (of)  a  person  '. 

Near  (nigh)  also  means  proximity:  ' near  me', 
'  near  the  door  ',  '  near  the  city  '. 

This  idea  is  obvious  in  its  metaphorical  applications  ;  thus 
we  have  '  near  the  heart ',  '  a  translation  near  the  original ', 
'  near  the  time  '.  It  contrasts  with  '  at '  in  not  signifying 
direction  at  a  distance,  and  with  '  in '  in  not  expressing  the 
fact  of  being  contained  in. 

By.     See  §  7. 

11.  2.  Motion  with  direction. 

To  (§  4)  is  the  chief  preposition  for  this  meaning. 
The  important  compound  into  is  very  uniform  and 
explicit  in  its  application. 

'Go  into  the  house',  'look  into  a  book',  'led  into  error', 
'  instilled  into  his  mind ',  '  forced  into  compliance  ',  '  ages 
crowded  into  years  ',  '  broken  up  into  companies ',  '  burst  into 
fragments ',  '  into  difficulties ',  '  infuse  more  spirit  into  the  com- 
position ',  '  let  into  the  secret ',  '  spring  into  blossom  '. 

Scot.  ' He  is  soon  put  into  (in)  a  passion ' ;  'sit  into  (near) 
the  fire '. 

Unto.  Now  seldom  used,  for  it  signifies  almost  the 
same  as  either  '  to  '  or  '  into  '. 

Toward,  towards,  in  the  direction  of :  '  ad- 
vance towards  the  castle  ',  '  look  towards  the  east '. 

The  metaphorical  applications  are  all  obvious  :  '  contribute 
towards  the  expense ',  '  towards  the  end  of  the  speech  ',  '  towards 
evening,'  &c. 

From  has  been  already  explained  (§  6). 

12.  3.  Place  and  direction. 

On.  The  simple  preposition  of  rest,  repose,  or 
support,  the  foundation  or  prop  being  indicated  by  the 
noun  following  :  '  on  the  ground  ',  '  on  the  table  ',  '  on 
the  sea ',  l  on  the  coast ',  '  leaning  on  his  staff  '* 


PLACE   WITH    DIRECTION.  91 

1  London  is  situated  on  the  Thames ',  shows  a  slight  departure 
from  the  strict  meaning,  as  if  by  a  figure  of  speech. 

Sometimes  a  falling  or  other  motion  is  implied  :  *  The  rain 
falls  on  the  earth  '  ;  '  I  sift  the  snow  on  the  mountains  below  '  ; 
'  we  rushed  on  deck '. 

The  other  uses  consist  more  or  less  in  following  out  these 
primary  significations.  '  Depend  on  me '  is  metaphorical  rest 
or  support.  '  Now  fades  the  glimmering  landscape  on  the 
sight',  is  highly  figurative  but  still  in  keeping.  '  He  plays  on 
the  violin  ',  '  he  dined  on  fish ',  are  farther  extensions  of  signifi- 
cation. The  constructions  '  to  gaze  on ',  *  to  dote  on  ',  •  com- 
ment on ',  '  prevail  on '.  '  insist  on  ',  '  resolve  on  ',  '  reflect  on ', 
'  trespass  on ',  are  well  recognised  idioms. 

In  signifying  time,  we  have  such  forms  as  '  on  Monday ', 
'  on  that  night ',  'on  the  occasion  ' ;  these  explain  themselves. 
A  somewhat  different  sense  is  observable  when  we  say  *  on  the 
melting  of  the  ice  the  ships  depart'.  Here  the  relation  is 
between  two  actions ;  first  the  ice  melts,  then  the  ships  depart. 
The  one  follows  the  other  closely.  *  On  '  is  much  the  same  as 
*  (immediately)  after '. 

Cause  may  sometimes  be  implied  in  the  use  of  '  on  '  :  '  on  this 
account '  ;  '  on  the  failure  of  his  plans,  he  threw  up  the  project ' 
is  both  '  when  and  because  his  plans  failed  '. 

Reference  can  also  find  expression  by  '  on  ',  as  we  have  seen 
under  'of  (§  3).  'A  work  on  politics,  on  finance,  on  music, 
&c.  '  ;  'to  speak  on  the  terms  of  peace '.  In  Elizabethan 
English,  *  on '  was  often  used  where  we  must  now  use  *  of ', 
especially  to  express  reference  :  '  to  be  jealous  on  one  ' ;  '  fond  on 
praise '  ;  '  he  shall  hear  on't ' ;  '  what  shall  become  on  me  ?  ' 

And  in  other  cases  as  well  :  '  at  root  oris  heart ' ;  '  the  lord 
on't  (of  it,  the  island) '  ;  '  i '  the  middle  on's  face '  ;  '  we  are 
such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  on  '. 

Opposition  is  given  by  '  on  '  in  such  combinations  as — 'declare, 
make  war  on ',  &c. 

Many  phrases  involve  this  preposition  :  '  on  fire ',  '  on  the 
wing',  '  on  the  alert ',  '  on  a  sudden',  'on  view',  'on  a  great 
scale  ',  '  on  the  part  of,  '  on  my  honour  '  '  his  blood  be  on  us  '. 

'  Rely  in '  is  an  error  for  '  rely  on  ' ;  '  founded  in  truth  ',  for 
'  on  truth '.  Scot.  '  He  was  married  on  (to)  such  a  person ' ;  '  I 
have  waited  long  on  (for)  an  answer '  ;  '  I  saw  him  on  or  upon 
(in)  the  street '. 

'  On  '  is  opposed  by  off,  another  form  of  '  of '. 
By  ellipsis,  '  off'  is  more  in  use  as  an  adverb  than  as  a  pre- 
position :    '  off  the  ground  ',   '  off  my  shoulders  \  '  off  work  '. 


92  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   PREPOSITION. 

The  adverbial  meaning  is  the  same,  and  is  seen  in  composition 
with  verbs,  as  'get  off',  'break  off',  'be  off',  'draw  off', 
'  drive  off ',  '  keep  off',  '  pay  off ',  '  drink  off '.  '  Set  of  (on  a 
journey),  should  be  'set  out'.  The  phrases  'well  off ',  '  badly  off, 
are  somewhat  peculiar ;  there  is  probably  an  ellipsis  of  some 
subject,  as  if  we  were  to  say  '  he  is  well  off  that  business '. 

Up,  down,  are  opposed  meanings. 

'  Up  stairs  ',  '  down  stairs' ;  '  up  hill,  down  hill ';  '  up 
the  stream ',  '  down  the  stream ' ;  '  down  the  vale  of 
years '. 

Adverbial  form  :  '  the  price  of  stock  is  up ' ;  '  his  spirits  were 
up  ;'  '  the  county  is  up  (in  arms) '.  '  Look  up  ',  '  fill  up  ',  'lead 
up  ',  • '  hush  up  '.  '  Come  down  ',  '  sit  down,  ',  '  bring  down ', 
'^pulldown',  'take  do  W,  'run  down\  'write  down\  'put  dowri. 

Upon  is  a  modification  or  variety  of  the  simple  pre- 
position *  on ',  which  can  be  used  for  it  in  nearly  every 
case. 

'  Upon  a  hill ',  '  upon  the  right ',  '  upon  condition ',  '  upon 
security',  '  upon  a  footing',  'upon  the  parish  '  (for  subsistence 
or  support),  '  upon  principle ',  '  upon  record ',  '  upon  trial ', 
'  upon  a  time  ',  '  upon  occasion ',  '  upon  this,'  'go  upon  the  ice ', 
'  enter  upon  an  undertaking '.  '  Kings  break  faith  upon  com- 
modity '  (Shakespeare)  =  '  when  and  because  they  can  gain  by 
doing  so '. 

In  adverbial  combinations  ;  '  dwell  upon ',  '  descant  upon ', 
'  gaze  upon ',  '  prey  upon ',  '  resolve  upon '. 

Scot.  '  There  is  a  meeting  upon  (on)  Thursday ' ;  '  he  plays 
upon  (on)  the  flute'. 

Above,  below,  beneath,  adhere  with  consider- 
able regularity  to  their  well-known  sense — higher  or 
lower  in  place. 

The  metaphorical  applications  of  '  above'  to  signify  superiority, 
dignity,  elevation,  are  seen  in  such  examples  as  '  above  his  rank  ', 
'  above  his  means  ',  '  above  comprehension  ',  '  above  board ', 
'  above  mean  actions ',  '  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun '. 

The  transition  is  easy  to  the  meaning,  more  than,  '  in  excess 
of;  as  '  above  all',  'above  the  price  of  rubies','  'the  serpent 
is  cursed  above  all  cattle  '. 

Adverbially  the  sense  is  adhered  to ;  as  in  referring  to  a 
former  place  in  a  book. 

'Below',  and  'beneath',  are  applied  metaphorically  to  the 


1  TIP,  ABOVE,  OVER  :    DOWN,  BELOW,  UNDER.' 


93 


opposite  states  of  inferiority  and  degradation  :  '  below  the  mark ', 
'beneath  the  yoke',  beneath  contempt'.  Adv.  'He  shrunk 
beneath '.  Scot.  '  Who  lives  above  (over)  you  ? '  *  Below  (under) 
water,  ground,  his  clothes '. 

Over  means  above  in  position :  '  a  naked  sword 
hung  over  his  head ',  *  a  large  hole  over  the  mantel- 
piece '. 

'  Over '  is  extended  from  place  to  many  other  applications, 
preserving  the  main  idea  :  '  power  over ',  '  to  watch  over  ',  pre- 
dominate over',  'muse  over  ',  'fear  came  over  me'.  '  Over  the 
season,'  is  '  through  the  season '  :  '  overnight '  would  he  literally 
'  through  the  night ',  but  means  also  '  after  the  commencement 
of  the  night '. 

In  composition  the  meaning  is  still  preserved  :  '  overshoot ', 

*  overhang ',  '  overcome '.    In  some  compounds  the  idea  implied 
is  '  excess  ' :  '  overdo  ',  '  overcharge  ',  '  overestimate  '.    The  tran- 
sition is  an  obvious  one. 

The  idea  of  '  covering '  distinguishes  this  preposition  from  the 
allied  word  '  above  ',  and  has  given  to  it  a  far  greater  stretch  of 
applications.  The  number  of  derivatives  obtained  from  it  is 
very  great. 

Scot.  '  They  looked  over  (out  at)  the  window '. 

Under,  the  opposite  of  '  over' :  '  under  the  tree  ', 
'  under  hatches  ',  *  under  water ',  '  under  heaven '. 

*  Under '  is  often  applied  metaphorically.  It  is  extended  to 
subjection,  dependence,  and. protection  ;  as  'under  the  sovereign  ', 
'  under  God '. 

To  the  sustaining  of  anything  as  a  burden,  covering,  or 
envelope:  'under  obligation',  '  under  orders ',  under  trial ,' 
'  under  apprehension ',  '  under  reproaches ',  '  under  necessity  ', 

*  under  consideration ',     '  under    the    guise,    or    pretence,    or 
character,  or  name  of,  '  under  sail',  '  under  arms ' . 

To  less  in  quantity  ;  as  '  under  age  ',  *  under  the  mark '. 

'  Under  the  seal  of ',  is  a  more  remote  extension,  and  may  he 
interpreted  as  '  under  the  authority  or  guarantee  signified  by 
the  putting  of  a  seal '. 

The  adverbial  sense  is  in  harmony  with  the  other  :  'hring 
under  \  '  put  under ',  '  come  under ',  '  go  under ',  '  bend  under '. 

Through.  The  simple  preposition  for  the  idea  of 
passage  :  '  through  the  gate ',  '  through  the  wood ', 


94  PARTS    OF    SPEECH. — THE    PREPOSITION. 

'  through  many  hands  ',  '  through  the  ranks ',  through 
the  clouds  ',  '  through  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death  '. 

The  first  step  in  advance  of  the  primitive  sense  is  to  signify 
over  the  whole  extent  of  a  thing,  from  end  to  end,  or  from  one 
side  to  another  ;  as  '  through  all  ranks ',  '  through  all  nations  ' ; 
the  application  depending  on  the  fact  that  passage  implies  suc- 
cessive contact,  and  a  survey  of  what  is  gone  over. 

Owing  to  the  facility  for  gaining  our  wishes  implied  in  a  free 
passage,  an  open  door,  or  a  medium  of  conveyance,  the  word 
farther  takes  on  the  meaning  of  instrumentality^  cause,,  means : 
'  through  industry ',  '  through  influence  ',  '  through  the  minister ', 
1  t/irough  the  swiftness  of  his  horse'.  A  difference  may  be 
noted  between  this  kind  of  instrumentality  and  that  expressed 
"by  '  with  ';  a  difference  arising  out  of  the  primitive  sense  of  tht. 
words. 

Time  :  '  through  the  ages ',  '  through  the  winter  ',  '  through 
the  session '. 

Throughout  is  a  strengthened  form. 

Scot.  '  He  walked  through  (across)  the  room  ' ;  'he  will  learn 
through  (in)  time ' ;  '  he  walks  through  (in)  his  sleep '. 

Along  is  'by  the  long  or  length  of ' :  '  along  the 
shore  ',  '  along  the  road  ',  *  alongside  \ 

No  metaphorical  extensions  of  any  importance  are  to  be 
noted. 

Adv.  '  Come  along ',  '  wander  along ',  '  drive  along ',  '  glide 
along '. 

Across,  '  on  the  cross ' :  *  across  the  river ', 
'  across  the  street ',  '  across  the  Atlantic  ',  '  across  his 
shoulders '. 

Adv.  '  Lay  across ',  '  swim  across  \ 

Before,  in  the  front  of,  with  or  without 
proximity  :  '  before  the  door  ',  '  before  Sebastopol ', 
'  before  the  face  of ',  '  before  the  magistrate  ',  '  before 
the  wind '. 

By  a  natural  transition  it  applies  to  precedence,  preference,  or 
superiority  :  '  before  hi.s  betters ',  '  before  his  regiment ',  '  he  was 
placed  before  the  knights'. 

The  application  to  priority  of  time  is  one  of  the  chief  uses  of 
the  word  :  '  before  day ',  '  before  long ',  '  before  the  ago '. 


'  THROUGH  :   BEFORE,  AFTER  :    BETWEEX,  AMONG.'     95 

In  the  adverbial  applications  botli  place  and  time  are  denoted, 
more  especially  time  :  '  looking  before  and  after'. 

After,  opposed  to  '  before  '  in  the  signification  of 
precedence  in  rank,  and  in  expressing  time. 

The  full  application  to  place  is  seen  in  the  adverbial  and  ad- 
jective uses  of  the  word  :  '  lagging  after ',  'the  after-part  of  the 
building '. 

By  an  obvious  figure  it  is  used  with  words  signifying  pursuit 
and  inquiry,  and  also  desire:  'follow  after',  'search  after', 
'  hunger  and  thirst  after  ',  '  longing  after  immortality  '. 

By  a  farther  extension,  also  quite  accountable,  we  find  it 
signifying  imitation  or  following  a  lead  :  '  after  Titieus ',  '  after 
the  original,  the  model ',  '  to  name  after  \ 

Behind,  as  opposed  to  'before',  means  'in  the 
rear  of ',  '  at  the  back  of ' : '  behind  the  scenes  ',  '  behind 
a  cloud  ',  '  behind  the  back '. 

Hence  such  applications  as  inferiority,  being  left  out,  a  re- 
mainder in  arrear,  at  a  distance,  out  of  sight,  disregarded. 

The  adverbial  compounds  with  verbs  are  of  a  like  tenor  :  '  stay 
behind ',  '  fall  behind ',  '  walk  behind  ',  '  look  behind  '. 

Between.  When  two  objects  are  separated,  the 
intervening  space,  or  anything  in  a  middle  position,  is 
expressed  by  this  word  in  its  primary  sense  :  '  between 
decks ',  '  between  times '. 

Hence  it  is  applied  to  express  all  that  goes  on  in  such  a  situ- 
ation :  '  passing  between ' ;  '  intercourse  or  communication 
between  ; '  '  coincidence,  similarity,  contrast,  or  difference  be- 
tween '  (the  result  of  the  comparison  that  may  take  place  when 
two  things  are  near  each  other)  ;  so  '  friendship,  relationship, 
understanding  between',  'contest  and  rivalry  between',  'to 
adjudicate  between  ' ;  also  community  or  partnership  ;  as  '  pos- 
sessing property  between  them '. 

'  Between  '  expresses  '  in  the  midst  of  two ' ;  but  the  etymo- 
logy is  often  disregarded  in  its  application.  '  Such  differences 
between  these  three  great  poets '  (Grote)  ;  '  the  days  when  my 
mother  and  /  and  Peggotty  were  all  in  all  to  one  another,  and 
there  was  no  one  to  come  between  us,  rose  up  before  me' 
(Dickens). 

'Among(st)1    and    'amid(st)'   imply  a  greater 


96      PARTS  OF  SPEECH. — THE  PREPOSITION. 

number    of   tilings  surrounding ;  '  among  the  trees  ', 
'  among  friends  ',  '  amidst  his  flock '. 

'  They  parted  my  raiment  among  them '.  Scot.  '  I  stuck 
among  (in)  the  mud  '. 

'  To  meditate  amongst  decay,  and  stand 
A  ruin  amidst  ruins.' 

Strictly,  '  to  divide  between  '  implies  two  ;  '  to  divide  among', 
more  than  two. 

Beyond.  The  primary  meaning  is  outside  of  in 
place,  *  on  the  far  side  of ' :  '  beyond  sea ',  '  beyond 
bounds  ',  *  beyond  hearing  '. 

*  Beyond '  is  extended  met  a;  horically  to  signify  superiority  or 
excess  in  a  great  many  other  properties  ;  thus,  '  beyond  the 
number  or  amount ',  '  beyond  his  power  or  his  means ',  '  beyond 
him  ',  '  beyond  description  ',  '  beyond  dispute ',  '  beyond  measure', 
'  beyond  the  grave'.  '  To  go  beyond '  is  to  deceive,  or  cir- 
cumvent. 

Abaft.  A  sea  term  exclusively :  *  no  smoking  abaft 
this  funnel  '. 

Round,  Around  :  'round  the  house',  'run  round 
the  common  ',  '  around  the  fire '. 

'  Round '  adheres  literally  to  its  well-known  primary  significa- 
cation,  except  in  the  one  phrase  '  to  get  round  a  person ',  for 
*to  wheedle  or  prevail  with  ',  'to  circumvent '. 

About  has  the  primary  meaning  of  '  around ',  but 
is  much  more  vaguely  applied.  It  passes  off  into 
signifying  a  certain  indefinite  nearness  or  proximity, 
the  being  contained  in  a  place  somewhere  or  other ;  as 
'  about  the  house  ',  '  about  the  town ',  *  about  the 
country  ',  '  about  the  person '. 

This  is  also  the  force  of  the  word  as  applied  to  time  :  '  about 
midnight '  means  not  exactly  midnight,  but  some  time  not  far 
off. 

So  with  number :  *  about  a  hundred '.  From  expressing 
nearness  it  becomes  also  a  preposition  of  reference  \  as  '  about 
my  father's  business  ',  '  about  who  was  greatest ',  '  about  the 
origin  of  evil '. 

As  an  adverb,  its  force  is  seen  in  '  go  about ', 


PLACE    AND    TIME.  97 

Against,  'towards',  '  opposite  to ',  'in  opposition 
to  ' :  '  agaimt  the  wall ',  '  over  against  the  tower ', 
'  against  the  enenrf',  '  against  the  current '. 

The  contrariety  to  '  for '  has  been  already  exemplified  (§  5). 

'  Against  winter  ',  '  against  my  return  ',  &c.,  shew  the  appli- 
cation to  time  (future). 

Without,  '  on  the  outside  of ',  '  beyond  the  bounds 
of ' :  *  without  the  camp  ',  '  without  the  range  of  the 
rifle '. 

Hence  the  sense  of  '  being  deprived  of ',  '  not  having  '  : 
*  without  help ',  '  without  courage  ',  '  without  doubt '. 

These  prepositions  of  place  and  motion  include  nearly  all  the 
simple  and  primitive  prepositions  of  the  language.  It  will  be 
seen  from  the  foregoing  explanations  that  by  means  of  meta- 
phorical extensions,  we  employ  relationships  of  place  to  express 
most  other  relationships  denoted  by  prepositions. 

The  relationships  of  place  may  be  made  more  explicit  and  em- 
phatic by  a  variety  of  compound  phrases,  which  have  the  exact 
force  of  prepositions  ;  as  '  in  the  midst  ot ',  '  in  the  heart,  centre, 
interior  of '  ;  '  close  by  ',  '  hard  by  ',  '  in  close  proximity  to  ', 
'  in  the  neighbourhood  or  vicinity  of '  ;  '  right  through  ', 
'  straight  at '  ;  *  in  anticipation  of. 

13.  II.  Time.  'Since',  < till',  «  until ',  'during', 
'  pending ',  *  after  ',  '  ere  '. 

'  Since  '.     The  time  after  an  event :  *  since  the  peace  '. 
'  Till ',   '  until '.     Preceding  and  up  to  an  event  :  '  till  the 
end  of  the  century'. 

*  During ',  '  pending '.     The  continuance  of  the  event. 

Many  prepositions  of  place  may  be  applied  to  time, 
by  governing  a  noun  of  time  ;  as  '  in ',  '  on  ',  '  at ', 
'  before ', '  between  ',  '  by ',  '  within ', '  about ', '  above  ', 
'  near '. 

'  In  a  year ' ;  *  on  this  ' ;  '  at  midsummer  ' ;  '  before  noon  ' ; 
between  tiiis  and  the  end  of  the  week  ';'&?/  Christmas  next '  ; 
within  the  month  ' ;  '  about  an  hour '  ;  '  above  a  generation  ' ; 
'  near  six  o'clock  '. 

The  expression  of  time  may  be  rendered  more  specific  and 
emphatic  by  a  variety  of  phrases  :  '  at  the  moment  ot",  '  on  the 
eve  of,  &c. 

7 


98  PARTS    OF    SPEECH.— THE    PREPOSITION. 

14.  III.  Agency.    The  agent,  instrument,  or  means 
of  an  action  is  indicated   by  the    Prepositions    '  by ', 

*  through V  with  ' ;  and  by  the  phrases,  l  by  means  of  ', 

*  by  virtue  of ',  '  through  the  instrumentality  of ',  '  by 
help  of ',  *  by  force  of ',  &c. 

The  simple  prepositions  have  been  already  explained.  The 
phrases  derive  their  signification  of  agency  from  the  noun  :  lby 
means  of  a  powerful  connexion  '  •  '  by  virtue  of  his  position  as 
judge  ' ;  '  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  skilful  agent '  ;  '  by 
help  of  favourable  circumstances  ' ;  'by  force  of  earnest  solicita- 
tion '. 

15.  IV.  End,  purpose,  motive,  or   reason  : 

*  for ',  *  from  '.     Phrases :  '  out  of ',  *  on  account   of  ', 
'  by  way  of  ',   '  for   the  sake  of  ',    *  for  the  ends  of  ', 

*  in  consideration   of,    'on   the   score   of,   'from  a 
regard  to  ',  '  with  a  view  to ',  '  with  an  eye  to  '. 

As  all  the  actions  of  human  beings  are  for  some  end,  the 
statement  of  the  end  is  often  required.  The  leading  preposition 
is  ' for  '  ;  'he  works  for  his  bread '.  When  the  feeling  to  be 
gratified  is  pointed  out,  '  from '  is  employed  :  '  he  works  froni 
hunger '  ;  '  he  reads  from  curiosity  (for  information) '.  '  Out 
of  kindness '  ;  '  on  account  of  mere  ambition ' ;  '  by  way  of 
strengthening  his  case'  ;  lfor  the  sake  of  peace  ' ;  'for  the  ends 
of  justice ' ;  '  in  consideration  of  his  former  good  conduct ' ;  '  on 
the  score  of  ill  health  ' ;  l  from  a  regard  to  character' ;  'with  a 
view  to  a  good  education '.  The  meaning  of  the  noun  suggests 
the  suitable  application  of  the  prepositional  phrases.  We  s!ioiil;i 
say,  'in  consideration  of  his  youth,  he  was  slightly  pnni.-hed  ', 
but  '  on  account  of  the  serious  character  of  the  offence'  ;  consid- 
eration implying  a  favourable  sentiment. 

16.  V.  Reference  :  'on',  'of,  'about',  'touching', 

*  concerning  ' ;  '  with  reference  to  ',  '  as  for  ',  '  as  to  ', 
'  as  regards  ',  '  on  the  subject  of  f,  '  on  the  matter  of  ', 
'  on  the  point  of ',  '  in  respect  of  '. 

'  On  the  beautiful ' ;  '  I  sing  of  war  ' ;  '  he  came  to  speak  to 
me  about  his  journey';  'touching  the  law';  'concerning  his 
interests' ;  '  unth  reference  to  your  application  ' ;  '  asj'or  that '  ; 
'  as  to  him'  ;  '  as  regards  the  progress  of  the  suit'  ;  '  on  the 
subject  of  explosive  mixtures '  ;  'on  the  matter  oj  the  sale '  j  '  in 
rasped  of  your  wishes '. 


END,  REFERENCE,  SEPARATION,  INCLINATION,    &C.     99 

Allied  to  reference  is  SUPPOSITION  for  which  there 
are  several  prepositional  phrases,  although  the  meaning 
is  more  usually  expressed  by  conjunctions  :  '  in  the 
event  of ',  '  on  the  supposition  of ',  '  in  case  of '. 

'  In  the  event  ofliis  not  arriving  '  ;  *  on  the  supposition  of  there 
being  an  abundant  supply  ' ;  'in  case  of  failure  '. 

17.  VI.  Separation  and  Exclusion:  'without', 

'  save ',    '  except ',    '  besides  ',    '  but ',    '  setting   aside  ', 
'  putting  on  one  side  ',  '  (apart)  from  ',  '  (far)  from  '. 

'  Without  arms  '  ;  '  save  one '  ;  '  except  England  '  ;  '  besides 
his  own  '  ;  'setting  aside  the  question  of  compensation  '  ;  'put- 
ting (leaving)  on  one  side  the  fear  of  consequences  '  ;  'none  but 
him  ' ;  '  apart  from  his  companions ' ;  'far  from,  home  '. 

18.  VII.  Inclination  and  Conformity:  'for', 
'(according)  to',  'in  accordance  with',  '(agreeably)  to', 
*  in  pursuance  of  '. 

'  For  (the  ends  of)  justice ' ;  '  according  to  use  and  wont ' ; 
'  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  both  parties '  ;  '  agreeably  to 
your  instructions  ' ;  'in pursuance  of  the  arrangements  already 
entered  on '. 

19.  VIM.   Aversion,    Opposition:    'against', 
'  with  '.  '  athwart ' ;  '  in  spite  of ',  '  in  defiance  of  '. 

*  A  decree  against  law '  ;  '  to  contend  with  one '  ;  '  athwart 
the  wishes  of  friends ' ;  *  in  spite  of  fate ' ;  '  in  defiance  of  his 
professions ' . 

20.  IX.  Substitution:  'for',  'instead  of,    'in 
room  of  ',  'in  place  of  ',  '  on  the  part  of  '(as  a  substi- 
tute) for '. 

'  An  eye  for  an  eye ' ;  '  instead  of  his  brother ' ;  (by  way  of 
evasion)  'fair  words  instead  of  deeds '  ;  *in  room  of  the  deceased' ; 
'  in  place  of  one  of  the  officials '  ;  '  as  a  substitute  for  a  bridge '. 
Scot.  '  In  place  of  (instead  of)  pitying  him,  they  laughed  at  him '. 

21.  X.  Possession,  Material :  'of,  '(belonging) 
to ',  '  (the  property)  of ',  '  (made)  of '. 

22.  It  has  been  seen  that  some  words  are  both  prepositions 
and  adverbs.     A  preposition  is  known  by  its  governing  a  noun, 
or  a  phrase  corresponding  to  a  noun.     Thus  an  infinitive  phrase 
is  frequently  governed  by  a  preposition  :  '  on  coming  home  ' ; 
1  on  breaking  the  seal ' ;  '  after  considering  the  case  ' ;   '  without 
straining  hard  ' ;  '  the  reason  of  his  answering  so  soon '. 


100 

THE  CONJUNCTION. 
Definition. 

I.  Conjunctions  join  Sentences  together: 

*  day  ends  and  night  begins  ' ;  '  they  were    equal   in 
power,  but  they  were  not  equally  esteemed '. 

This  is  the  primary  use  of  the  words  called  Conjunctions. 
When  two  sentences  are  joined  by  a  word  expressing  the  relation 
of  the  one  to  the  other,  the  word  of  relation — and,  but,  if,  or — 
is  a  conjunction.  But  the  remark  is  also  made,  that  besides 
joining  complete  sentences,  clauses,  or  affirmations,  the  con- 
junction may  join  parts  of  sentences,  and  even  single  words  : — 

*  Abraham  saw  my  day  afar  off  and  was  glad  ; '   '  Napoleon  and 
Wellington  were  great  generals'.    These,  however,  are  obviously 
contractions,  and,  when  restored  to  the  full  form,  give  distinct 
dictums  :  *  Napoleon  was  a  great  general,  and  Wellington  was 
a  great  general '.    '  He  is  neither  a  fool,  nor  a  rogue  '  j  '  neither 
he  is  a  fool,  nor  he  is  a  rogue  '. 

The  following  examples  are  not  so  obviously  contractions  : — 
'  two  and  two  is  four  ' ;  '  if  they  stand  between  you  and  me  ' . 
Again,  *  put  it  under  lock  and  key ',  seems  impossible  to  resolve 
into  separate  sentences  :  the  reason  is  that  it  is  the  last  stage  of 
several  abbreviations.  Very  familiar  objects  that  in  the  first 
instance  would  need  to  be  expressed  at  some  length,  are  in  the 
end  given  by  the  fewest  possible  words  that  will  make  a 
meaning.  A  lock  is  a  complicated  machine  ;  it  consists  of  two 
separable  and  yet  related  members  ;  the  one  is  called  the  lock, 
and  the  other  the  key  ;  the  two  together  are  called  shortly  '  lock 
and  key  '.  So  '  man  and  wife ',  '  parent  and  child  ',  '  master 
and  servant ',  '  north  and  south  ',  are  abbreviated  correlatives 
united  by  '  and '.  When  we  say  of  two  persons  '  they  are  hus- 
band and  wife  ',  we  cannot  resolve  the  conjunction  immediately 
into  two  separate,  affirmations,  yet  remotely  the  '  and  '  connects 
distinct  statements  or  sentences,  such  as  these  : — '  human  beings 
are  of  two  classes  ;  the  one  class  are  males,  who  become  hus- 
bands, and  the  other  class  are  females  who  become  wives  '. 
We  come  to  abridge  these  sentences  by  leaving  out  all  the 
words,  but  the  two  essential — husband,  wife— and  couple  these 
by  '  and '.  But  for  this  we  should  have  to  say  — '  one  of  these 
persons  is  a  husband,  and  the  other  is  (his)  wife '. 

Some  words  are  Conjunctions  and  never  anything  else  :  such 
are  — 'and',  'or',  'nor',  'if',  'because',  'leU'.  Other  words 


CO-ORDINATING   AND   SUBORDINATING.  101 

are,  now  at  least,  principally  Prepositions,  arfd  become  con- 
junctions by  being  prefixed  to  a  clause  ;•  those  are--— ', before  ', 
'after',  'since',  'ere',  'until',  'for'.  The  old  inglisfc  cou- 
struction  was  to  supply  the  demonstrative  'that'  for  the  pie- 
position  to  govern  : — '  After  that  I  was  turned  I  repented ', 
'  after  that  1  was  instructed,  &c.'  The  dropping  of  the  demon- 
trative  leaves  the  preposition  in  direct  contact  with  the  clause, 
and  it  is  then  said  to  be  a  conjunction. 

Certain  adverbs  are  included  among  the  conjunctions.  These 
are  words  that  are  purely  relative,  or  stand  in  need  of  a  second 
clause  to  give  a  meaning.  '  He  is  industrious,  therefore  he  is 
happy.'  The  word  'therefore'  would  not  suffice  of  itself  to 
qualify  '  he  is  happy '  ;  there  must  be  a  previous  clause  to  give 
the  meaning,  or  the  reason  why  he  is  happy.  By  this  circum- 
stance, '  therefore  '  serves  the  office  of  a  conjunction.  It  is  a 
relative  adverb,  conjunctive  adverb,  or  adverbial  conjunction. 
Of  the  same  class  are — '  likewise ',  '  also ',  '  still ',  '  yet ',  '  never- 
theless ',  '  notwithstanding ',  '  however ',  *  consequently ', 
'  hence  ',  '  accordingly  '. 

Classes  of  Conjunctions. 

2.  There  are  two  leading  divisions  of  Conjunctions 
—Co-ordinating  and  Subordinating. 

Co-ordinating  Conjunctions  join  co-ordinate 
clauses  J  that  is,  independent  affirmations. 

Subordinating  conjunctions  unite  subordinate 
or  dependent  clauses  to  the  principal  clause 
of  a  sentence. 

3.  I.  The   Co-ordinating  Conjunctions  are 

classed  according  to  the  relation  existing  between  the 
united  clauses.  They  may  indicate  that  the  second  is  a 
clause  of  Addition  or  Cumulation  ('  and '),  of  Opposi- 
tion or  Contrast  ('  but '),  or  of  Effect  or  Consequence 
('  therefore '). 

4.  (1.)  Cumulative  Conjunctions  are  such  as 

unite  one  clause  with  a  second  whose  meaning  adds  to 
what  precedes :  f  AND  ',  '  also  ',  '  likewise  ',  '  as  well 
as', 'not  only — but',  'partly — partly',  'first — then — 
secondly,'  &c,,  'further',  'moreover',  'now',  'well'. 


102          PARTS   OF   SPEECH.  —  THE   CONJUNCTION. 

And  couples  or  umtes  two  affirmations,  and  does  no 


This  is  the  chief  of  fhe  class  ;  it  is  a  strict  conjunction  ;  the 
rest  are  adverbs  having  the  same  general  etJ'ect,  but  with 
additional  circumstances  or  shades  of  meaning. 

Both  —  and  puts  special  emphasis  on  the  com- 
bination. 

Also  marks  some  similarity  in  the  second  statement. 

Very  often,  however,  there  is  little  implied  in  it  beyond 
what  would  be  signified  by  '  and  '. 

Likewise  is  nearly  the  same  as  *  also  '. 

It  was  considered  that  there  was  point  in  the  remr  vk  made  on  the  son 
of  a  famous  Scotch  judge,  who  had  succeeded  to  his  father's  office,  but 
not  to  his  ability  ;  '  he  was  a  judge  also,  but  not  likewise  '.  '  Likewise  ' 
often  connects  one  sentence  with  a  preceding,  having  nearly  the  force 
of  '  and  '. 

As  well  as  gives  an  especial  emphasis  to  the  union  ; 
in  most  cases  more  particularly  to  the  first  member. 

'  He  as  well  as  you  '  is  more  forcible  than  '  he  and  you  '. 
.'No  less  than'  has  a  similar  effect.  Both  expressions  are 
strictly  subordinating  connectives. 

Not  only  —  but  indicates  strongly  the  fact  that  the 
first  mentioned  circumstance  does  not  stand  by  itself, 
and  thus  emphasises  the  second. 

Instead  of  saying  '  England  and  all  the  rest  of  Europe  ',  we 
may  say,  when  we  mean  to  put  stress  on  the  circumstance  of 
England's  not  standing  alone,   *  not  only  England,  but  all  the 
%  rest  of  Europe  '. 

Partly  —  partly.       Half—  half.      Now—  now. 

'He  spoke  partly  from  conviction,  partly  from  prudence.' 
'  He  consented,  half  from  cupidity,  half  from  fear.  '  '  He 
dwelt  now  among  the  Britons,  now  among  the  Mercians.'  These 
and  similar  forms  also  couple  or  add  two  predications,  intro- 
ducing at  the  same  time  a  circumstance  that  seems  suitable  to 
the  special  case. 

First,    then,    secondly,    &c.      The    numerr* 


CUMULATIVE    AND    ADVERSATIVE.  103 

adverbs   indicate   cumulation  ;  the   additional  circum- 
stances being  definite  order  and  a  means  of  reference. 

Further,  Moreover,  mean  tbat  the  case  is  not  yet 
exhausted,  there  is  more  to  be  said  upon  it. 

Now  is  transferred  from  present  time  to  indicate 
present  circumstances.  It  introduces  the  middle  link 
in  an  argument,  and  it  offers  explanation. 

The  effect  of  '  now  '  commencing  a  sentence  is  to  follow  up  a 
statement  by  something  that  completes  it,  so  as  to  enable  an 
inference  to  be  drawn.  Thus  if  a  condition  be  premised  from 
which  something  follows,  the  compliance  with  the  condition 
would  be  expressed  by  '  now  ',  and  the  conclusion  by  '  therefore'. 
*  He  was  promised  a  holiday  if  he  executed  his  task  ;  now  he 
has  done  the  task,  therefore  he  is  entitled  to  the  holiday '. 
(The  minor  premise  of  the  syllogism  is  correctly  introduced  by 
'now  '.) 

'Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas  ;  now  Barabbfcs  was  a  robber.' 
Here  '  now '  adds  an  explanatory  circumstance. 

Well  implies  that  hitherto  all  is  satisfactory  and 
indisputable,  and  that  the  way  is  clear  for  proceeding 
another  step. 

It  is  in  the  consecutive  sentences  of  a  Paragraph  that  these 
adverbial  connectives  come  most  frequently  into  play,  and  when 
carefully  employed,  they  add  much  to  the  clearness  of  the 
connexion. 

The  omitting  of  a,  conjunction  has  the  force  of  cumulation  ; 
the  mere  fact  of  stating  one  thing  after  another,  with  no  word 
expressing  opposition,  or  conditional ity,  or  other  relationship, 
leaves  it  to  be  understood  that  they  are  to  the  same  general 
effect,  just  as  if  we  were  to  employ  '  and '  to  unite  them. 
This  omission  may  also  suggest  inference :  '  The  wind  passeth 
over  it ;  it  is  gone  '. 

5.  (2.)  Adversative  Conjunctions  place  the 
second  Sentence  or  Clause  in  some  kind  of  opposition  to 
what  precedes.  This  Class  is  subdivided  into  three 
species. 

(a.)  Exclusive  :  *  not— but ',  '  else  ', '  otherwise ',  'or'. 


104  PARTS    OF    SPEECH. — THE    CONJUNCTION. 

Not — but  excludes  or  puts  aside  one  fact  to  bring 
another  into  prominence. 

'  A  struggle,  not  for  empire,  but  for  existence.'  *  He  did  not 
speak,  but  lie  fi.ught.'  '  We  must  think  not  whom  we  are  fol- 
lowing, but  what  we  are  doing.' 

Else,  otherwise,  'on  any  other  supposition*. 

These  adverb  conjunctions  have  a  definite  and  important 
signification  ;  '  it  is  so,  had  it  not  been  so,  something  would 
have  happened '.  '  He  came  to  town  yesterday,  otherwise  I 
should  not  have  met  him'  ;  that  is,  'if  he  had  not  come  to 
town  yesterday '. 

Or  similarly  implies  the  exclusion  of  the  first  cir- 
cumstance. 

*  I  must  seem  to  be  angry,  or  (=  otherwise,  if  I  do  not  seem 
to  be  angry),  she  too  may  begin  to  despise  my  authority.' 

(b.)  Alternative  :  '  either — or ',  *  neither — nor ', 
'  whether — or  '.  '  Whereas '  and  '  while '  may  be  added. 

The  general  meaning  of  each  of  these  couples  is  well  known, 
but  there  are  some  special  meanings  worth  noting. 

Or  sometimes  expresses  a  mere  alternative  name, 
or  syno?iyme,  the  thing  being  the  same  :  *  Christ,  or 
(that  is)  the  Messiah '. 

In  judicial  proceedings  this  is  expressed  by  alias.  We  are 
hence,  sometimes,  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  an  alternative  is 
merely  verbal,  or  is  real. 

AVe  have  just  seen  the  use  of  'or '  for  '  otherwise  '  :  '  you  must 
study  hard,  or  you  cannot  succeed '. 

Nor  is  sometimes  a  contraction  for  '  and  not*. 

*  He  foresaw  the  consequences,  nor  were  they  long  delayed ' 
(and  they  were  not). 

These  alternative  conjunctions  are  not  always  con- 
fined to  two  things. 

*  He  regarded  her  as  either  an  impostor,  or  a  madwoman,  or 
a  compound  of  both.'    'Neither  wind,  nor  rain,  nor  aught  else, 
can  cool  our  affection.' 

'  For  I  have  neither  wit,  nor  words,  nor  worth, 
Action,  nor  utterance,  nor  the  power  of  speech, 
To  stir  men's  blood.' 


ADVERSATIVE    AND   ARRESTIVE.  105 

Whereas  and  while  may  often  be  regarded  as  co- 
ordinating no  less  than  as  subordinating  alternatives. 

'  The  subtle  interpretation  of  laws  can  put  very  few  in 
remembrance  of  their  duty,  whereas  (=  '  while  ',  '  on  the  other 
hand ')  the  plain  meaning  of  the  laws  is  open  to  every  man  '. 
'  Whereas  '  is  strictly  a  compound  relative  adverb,  ^  meaning 
1  in  circumstances  wherein,  or  with  reference  to  which  '. 

(c.)  Arrestive,  represented  by  *  but ' :  'but  then ', 
'  still ',  '  yet ',  '  only ',  '  nevertheless ',  '  however '. 
Phrases :  for  all  that ',  *  at  the  same  time  '. 

But  is  the  conjunction  of  exception  and  surprise. 

The  characteristic  meaning  of  *  but '  is  seen  when 
something  has  been  said  that  suggests,  according  to 
the  usual  course  of  things,  a  certain  other  fact,  or  con- 
clusion, which,  however,  does  not  follow  in  this  case. 

'  He  was  honest,  but  he  was  not  esteemed.'  An  honest  man 
usually  gains  the  esteem  of  his  fellows,  and  when  we  hear  the 
attribute  of  honesty  affirmed,  we  are  naturally  disposed  to  go 
on  and  assume  the  accompaniment  of  respect  ;  this  is  prevented 
by  the  use  of  'but',  and  hence  the  designation  '  arrestive '.  '  The 
meeting  dispersed  ',  the  conclusion  is  that  everybody  went  away  ; 
to  check  this  inference,  which  may  be  too  hasty  and  sweeping, 
we  add,  '  but  the  lenders  remained  '.  '  He  is  rich,  but  not  happy '; 
'he  tries  hard,  but  he  does  not  prosper'. 

Loose  employment  of  ''but '. — This  forcible  word  should  not  be 
used  where  no  exception  is  taken,  or  no  arrest  put  upon  a 
natural  inference.  '  No  man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it 
down  of  myself;  'but' is  here  unnecessary. 

It  is  also  a  common  mistake  to  use  '  but '  in  the  sense  of  '  now ', 
as  signifying  the  completing  of  a  case  in  order  to  draw  an 
inference.  *  Men  are  mortal;  but  (for  'now')  we  are  men; 
therefore  we  are  mortal.' 

The  mere  stating  of  a  contrast  does  not  justify  '  but '  ;  '  when 
pride  cometh,  then  cometh  shame  ;  but  with  the  lowly  is 
wisdom '.  The  last  assertion  is  in  accordance  with  the  first  (the 
denial  of  the  opposite  is  another  mode  of  affirming  the  same 
fact),  and  therefore  there  is  no  sufficient  case  for  *  but '. 
'While 'is  a  suitable  word  in  this  connexion  ;  so  is  the  phrase 
1  on  the  other  hand '. 

In  the  following  sentence  the  propriety  of  '  but'  depends  on 
the  facts  of  the  case :  '  the  Commons  passed  the  bill,  but  the 


106  PARTS   OP  SPEECH. — THE   CONJUNCTION. 

Lords  threw  it  out '.  If  it  were  usual  for  the  Lords  to  agree 
with  the  Commons,  their  opposition  would  be  a  surprise,  and 
would  be  expressed  by  '  but '.  Where  there  is  no  surprise,  a 
cumulative  conjunction  is  to  be  preferred.  '  Parliament  passed 
the  measure,  but  the  King  refused  his  consent  ',  would,  under 
the  custom  of  the  English  constitution,  be  a  proper  construction. 

'  But '  is  the  conjunction  of  epigram. 

But  then.  A  more  emphatic  form  of  '  but ' ;  equal  to  '  but 
in  that  case,  or  on  that  supposition '. 

Still  suggests  a  pause  to  hear  what  is  to  be  said 
by  way  of  exception  or  opposition  to  the  previous 
statements. 

'  Still '  is  an  equivalent  of  '  but ',  and  even  more  emphatic  : 
'  everything  went  against  him  ;  still  he  persisted  '.  As  it  is  a 
greater  break  in  the  flow  of  the  composition  than  'but',  it  is 
a  preferable  word  for  commencing  a  period,  or  the  second  mem- 
ber of  a  period  divided  by  a  semicolon. 

Yet.  The  peculiar  force  of  '  yet '  is  brought  out  by 
its  connexion  with  '  though ' :  '  though  deep,  yet 
clear '. 

When  '  though '  is  not  expressed,  it  is  understood,  and  the 
meaning  of  '  yet '  is  almost  the  same.  The  intention  is  as  it 
were  formally  to  concede  a  point  that  would  seem  to  carry  a 
certain  consequence  with  it,  and  at  the  same  time  to  forbid  that 
consequence. 

Nevertheless.  In  conveying  the  same  general 
meaning  as  the  foregoing,  this  long  word  makes  a  con- 
siderable break  or  pause. 

It  is  therefore  suitable  for  introducing  a  longer  declaration, 
as  in  commencing  a  period,  or  an  extended  member  of  a  period. 

However.  A  word  of  like  purport  to  the  fore- 
going. It  has  the  peculiarity  of  being  often  placed  in 
the  middle  of  its  sentence  or  clause. 

'  That  course,  however,  he  was  not  inclined  to  take. '  The 
advantage  of  such  an  arrangement  is,  that  the  conjunction  does 
not  stand  between  the  two  connected  statements,  and  so  per- 
mits the  reference  to  be  emphatically  close. 

Only.  Placed  at  the  beginning  of  an  assertion 
'  only '  has  the  effect  of  '  but '. 


ARRESTIVE   AND   ILLATIVE.  107 

'  Do  as  yon  please ;  only  let  your  intention  be  apparent  * ; 
that  is,  your  doing  so  is  still  to  permit  this  one  thing,  namely, 
that  you  make  your  intention  apparent. 

For  all  that,  in  spite  of  all  that,  notwithstanding  all 
that,  are  phrases  that  produce  the  arrestive  effect,  and  are 
suitable  to  be  made  use  of  when  a  more  than  ordinary  emphasis 
is  demanded.  This  emphasis  they  give  partly  from  the  force  of 
the  words,  partly  from  their  occupying  the  attention  by  their 
length. 

At  the  same  time.  Another  phrase  belonging  to  the 
arrestive  class,  without  much  speciality  in  its  application. 

6.  (3.)  Illative  Conjunctions  express  effect, 
or  consequence  :  '  therefore  ',  '  wherefore  ',  *  hence ', 
'  whence ',  '  consequently  ',  '  accordingly  ',  '  thus  ',  'so', 
*  so  that ',  '  then  ',  '  so  then '. 

Therefore  is  the  typical  word  of  the  class. 

It  is  also  the  most  frequently  made  use  of.  The  rest  do  little 
more  than  afford  synonymes  to  vary  the  composition.  Where- 
fore is  equal  to  '  and  therefore  ' ;  hence,  the  same  as  '  from 
this  ' ;  whence  lite  '  wherefore  ',  dispenses  with  '  and  '  when 
we  should  say  '  and  hence  '. 

Consequently  is  the  equivalent  of  'as  a  con- 
sequence '. 

Accordingly  may  mean  '  consequence '  or  '  effect ', 
like  the  preceding. 

It  is  also  suited  by  its  etymology  to  a  rather  different  mean- 
ing sometimes  important  to  be  signified, —  'in  harmony  with  '. 
'The  arrangements  are  that  the  cavalry  and  artillery  shall 
move  in  advance  ;  accordingly,  you  (the  cavalry)  are  to  leave 
your  position ',  &c. 

Thus  and  so,  like  'accordingly',  are  words  originally 
implying  comparison  or  similarity  of  manner,  and  ex- 
tended to  signify  inference  or  consequence. 

'Thus '  is  employed  after  stating  a  principle  to  introduce  an 
example  or  case  in  point ;  as  much  as  to  say  '  we  shall  give  an 
instance  of  what  is  intended '.  It  also  expresses  a  comparison 
in  the  strict  sense  ;  as  in  the  passage  from  the  Pleasures  of 
Hope  :  *  At  summer's  eve,  when  heaven's  ethereal  bow  ',  &c. — 
thus  (adv.  of  manner  or  comparison)  with  delight  we  linger '. 


108  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   CONJUNCTION. 

The  existence  of  these  two  distinct  uses  renders  the  word  less 
apt  as  an  illative  conjunction,  although  still  admissible. 

'  So ',  whose  primary  function  is  to  make  a  comparison,  can 
also  express  a  consequence.  '  There  was  nothing  to  be  seen,  so 
we  went  our  way  '. 

So  that  is  more  specific  than  '  so  '  ;  the  addition  of  *  that ' 
excludes  the  meaning  of  comparison  ;  hence  this  combination  is 
one  of  our  most  precise  forms  of  signifying  inference.  Its  most 
characteristic  import  is,  '  to  such  a  degree  that '. 

Then.  From  having  as  an  adverb  the  force  of 
1  after  that ',  or  '  in  the  next  place ',  '  then  '  has  been 
included  among  illative  conjunctions ;  the  fact  of  one 
thing  following  another  being  given  as  showing  causa- 
tion or  inference. 

The  same  explanation  applies  to  the  adoption  of  'con- 
sequently', 'it  follows  that ',  as  words  signifying  cause  and  effect. 

'Then'  is  more  commonly  used  in  a  compound  phrase,  'so 
then  ',  *  and  then ',  but  it  may,  standing  alone,  have  the  full 
force  of  '  therefore ',  in  drawing  an  inference,  or  stating  an 
effect,  or  a  consequence.  '  So  then  the  cause  was  gained ', 
signifies  *  by  those  means  it  came  about  as  an  effect  that ',  &c. 

To  vary  the  expression  of  this  important  relationship,  as.  well 
as  occasionally  to  make  it  more  emphatic  and  precise,  we  use 
phrases  of  greater  length  ;  as  '  the  effect,  consequence,  result, 
upshot  was';  'the  inference  is';  'it  follows';  'it  may  be 
concluded,  inferred ',  &c. 

7.  II.  The  Subordinating  Conjunctions  are 

divided  according  to  the  various  relations  or  modes  of 
dependence ;  as  Eeason  (because),  Condition  (if),  End 
(that),  Precaution  (provided  that),  Time  (when). 

8.  (1.)  Conjunctions  of  Reason  and  Cause: 

'  because  ',  *  for ',  '  since ',  '  as  ',  '  whereas  ',  '  inasmuch 
as',  'seeing  (considering,  &c.)  that'. 

When  we  invert  an  illative  connexion,  stating  the  conse- 
quence as  the  main  clause,  the  other  is  then  assigned  as  the 
reason  :  'he  is  in  earnest,  therefore  he  will  succeed  '  (illative) ; 
1  he  will  succeed,  because  he  is  in  earnest '  {reason}.  The  clause 
'  because  he  is  in  earnest ',  is  a  subordinate  or  dependent  clause  ; 
in  other  words,  the  fact  is  given  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  as 
bearing  out  something  else.  The  conjunctions  introducing 
these  clauses  are,  therefore,  called  subordinating. 


- 


REASON    OR    CAUSE.  109 

Because,  by  its  derivation,  is  the  word  for  assigning 
a  cause. 

Moral  causes,  or  motives  acting  on  the  mind,  are  expressed  by 
this  conjunction  :  '  he  reads  because  he  has  thought  himself 
hungry  ;  he  writes  because  lie  has  read  himself  lull '.  Physical 
causation  is  stated  in  this  example  :  '  the  crops  failed,  because 
the  season  was  dry  '. 

For  is  used  in  assigning  causation,  in  giving  what 
is  called  the  logical  reason  or  proof,  and  in  explaining 
or  accounting  for  a  thing. 

'  The  brook  will  be  very  high,  for  a  great  deal  of  rain  fell 
the  night'  (physical  cause)-*-4*™  great  deal  of  rain  must  have 
fallen,  for  the  brook  is  high'  (the  logical  reason  or  proofX_LBJ9~ 
pressed  on,  for  his  ambition  was  still  unsatisfied  '  (explanation). 
The  word  is  especially  appropriate  in  this  last  sense.  A  charac- 
teristic application  is  seen  in  such  a  sentence  as  '  do  as  you  are 
told,  for  much  depends  on  it ' ;  here  there  is  a  blank  or  ellipsis, 
and  when  that  is  tilled  up,  the  conjunction  shows  itself  in  the 
sense  of  giving  the  reason  or  proof  :  '  do  as  you  are  told  ;  if  you 
fail,  the  consequences  will  be  serious,  for  (or  the  proof  of  which 
is)  much  depends  on  it '. 

Since  literally  means  something  that  is  past,  and 
hence  settled  and  fixed,  so  that  whatever  consequences 
depend  on  it  must  now  arise. 

1  Since  you  desire  it,  I  will  look  into  the  matter.'  It  declares 
a  certain  circumstance  to  have  occurred,  and  gives  that  as  a 
reason  for  the  main  affirmation. 

As  derives  its  use  as  a  subordinating  conjunction  of 
reason  from  the  original  idea  of  declaring  similarity 
or  comparison. 

*  As  we  are  at  leisure,  let  us  see  what  is  to  be  seen  '  ;  the  '  as' 
here  assigns  a  reason  for  our  seeing,  &c.,  and  it  does  so  by  indi- 
cating a  sort  of  similarity  or  harmony  between  the  positions  of 
our  being  at  leisure  and  our  seeing  all  we  can  :  'it  is  in 
accordance  with  our  situation  to  see ',  &c.  '  Let  us  act  out, 
conform  to,  or  resemble  our  position',  &c.  Although  'as  '  is  thus 
included  among  the  subordinating  conjunctions  of  reason, 
there  is  more  frequent  danger  of  ambiguity  with  it  than  with 
the  others  of  the  class. 


110          PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   CONJUNCTION. 

Whereas  introduces  the  preamble  in  every  Act  of 
Parliament,  giving  the  reason  or  motive  of  the 
enactment,  or  the  evil  to  be  remedied  by  the  provisions 
that  follow. 

Hence  it  is  strictly  a  conjunction  of  reason,  but  its  employ- 
ment in  this  sense  is  mostly  confined  to  legal  compositions. 

The  meaning  belonging  to  the  word  in  ordinary  style  is 
different.  '  I  offered  to  take  the  lot  entire,  whereas  every  one 
else  wished  it  divided.'  Here  it  plainly  indicates  a  contrast 
between  two  tilings.  See  §  5  (2)  (&). 

Inasmuch  as,  forasmuch  as.  These  are  compound  equi- 
valents of  '  since  ',  '  as  ',  and  '  whereas  '  (in  the  sense  of  a  pre- 
amble). « Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth 
in  order,  *&c. 

Seeing  that,  considering  that,  have  a  special 
appropriateness  when  the  reason  grows  out  of  circum- 
stances reflected  on  by  the  mind. 

'  Seeing  that  you  cannot  get  what  you  ask,  take  what  you 
can  get.'  'Considering  that  the  world  is  so  intricate,  we  are 
not  to  be  surprised  that  science  has  progressed  slowly.'  The 
only  peculiarity  of  these  phrases  as  conjunctions  of  reason  is 
derived  from  the  meaning  of  the  words  '  seeing ',  '  considering  '. 

9.  (2.)  Conjunctions  of  Supposition,  Con- 
dition, or  Qualification  :  'if',  'supposing  (that) ', 
'  if  not ',  '  unless  ',  '  except ',  '  without ',  «  otherwise  ', 
'  whether ',  *  as  if ',  '  though  ',  '  notwithstanding ', 
« albeit'. 

If.  When  a  thing  is  stated  not  absolutely  or  un- 
conditionally, but  under  a  certain  condition,  supposition, 
or  qualification,  '  if  '  is  the  principal  word  for  expressing 
the  condition. 

'  I  will,  if  I  can  ; '  'if  I  could,  I  would  '.  This  is  the  main 
use  of  the  conjunction,  to  which  it  adheres  with  considerable 
uniformity. 

A  peculiar  and  somewhat  ambiguous  employment  of  the 
word  is  seen  in  the  fable,  where  the  ant  says  to  the  grasshopper, 
'  If  you  sung  in  summer,  dance  in  winter',  where  'if  has  the 
force  of  a  reason,  the  condition  being  a  realised  fact,  '  since,  or 
as  you  sung  '.  These  are  cases  where  the  conjunction  is  always 
followed  by  the  indicative  mood. 


SUPPOSITION    OR   CONDITION.  Ill 

Supposing  that,  on  the  supposition,   presumption, 

allegation,  hypothesis  that,  are  phrases  that  vary  the 
mode  of  introducing  conditional  statements  ;  they  carry  their 
own  meaning  with  them.  In  case  (that)  is  a  very  convenient 
and  often-wanted  phrase  for  anticipating  contingencies  or  even- 
tualities. The  prepositional  phrase  'in  the  event  of  is  of 
the  same  tenor. 

Provided  that.    See  §  10,  end. 

If  not  is  a  conjunction  of  negative  condition. 

'  Aristotle,  the  most  sagacious,  if  not  the  most  comprehensive, 
mind  of  antiquity  ',  conveys  an  insinuation  of  doubt,  although 
the  context  and  the  manner  will  often  show  that  the  speaker 
either  believes  or  disbelieves  the  statement. 

Unless  and  except  are  also  conjunctions  of 
negative  condition. 

'  Unless  (=if  not)  I  hear  to  the  contrary,  I  will  be  there.' 
'  Except  (=.  unless,  if  not)  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish. ' 

Without  was  formerly  used  to  signify  '  if  not '  :  '  without 
you  go,  I  will  not '.  The  connexion  of  this  sense  with  the 
usual  force  of  the  preposition  is  apparent. 

Whether — or,  whether,  indicate  a  double  case  of 
conditionality. 

'  Whether  he  like  it  or  not,  he  will  have  to  go'  :  that  is 
1  whichever  of  the  two  suppositions  be  the  fact,  he  will  have  to 
go '  ;  '  if  he  like  it,  he  will  have  to  go  ' ;  '  if  (though)  he  do  not 
like  it,  he  will  have  to  go  '. 

In  the  expression  'I  know  not  whether  he  will  come,' the 
word  'if  sometimes  takes  the  place  of  'whether',  as  if  con- 
ditiouality  were  still  suggested.  The  transition  from  stating 
conditionality  to  implying  mere  doubt  is  an  obvious  one ;  the 
meanings  are  still  distinct. 

As  if  is  a  compound  conjunction  carrying  out  the 
sense  of  both  words. 

'  He  started  as  if  he  saw  a  spirit ',  is  elliptical  for  '  as  lie 
would  have  done  if  he,'  &c. 

Though,  although,  express  concession,  which  is 
condition,  with  the  circum stance  that  parties  are  willing 
to  allow  something  that  they  might  perhaps  refuse. 


112  PARTS   OF   SPEECH. — THE   CONJUNCTION. 

'  Though  all  men  deny  thee,  yet  will  I  not ' ;  'grant  the  sup- 
position that  all  men,  &c. ' 

When  something  is  given  as  true  with  a  certain  limitation, 
we  may  use  this  word  :  '  they  advanced  steadily,  though  slowly  '. 

The  use  of  '  yet '  to  preface  the  principal  clause  increases  the 
emphasis  of  that  clause,  but  does  not  affect  the  meaning  of 
'  though  '  in  connexion  with  the  subordinate  clause. 

The  omission  of  'though'  in  the  above  example  would  make 
the  clauses  co-ordinate,  united  by  the  co-ordinating  arrestive 
conjunction  'yet'. 

We  have  a  variety  of  phrases  for  the  present  meaning  :  pro- 
vided that,  allowing  that,  granting  that,  &c.  Sup- 
posing that  also  frequently  implies  that  a  concession  is  made. 

Notwithstanding  falls  under  the  same  head  as 
the  foregoing. 

It  is  a  verbal  phrase  converted  into  a  preposition  in  the  first 
instance,  and  then  into  a  conjunction.  It  obviously  means  '  1 
am  prepared  to  do  a  certain  thing,  granting  what  appear  to  be 
strong  considerations  or  forces  on  the  other  side  '. 

'  For  all  that,  in  spite  of  all  that ',  are  expressive  synonymes 
for  the  co-ordinating  meaning.  '  Anyhow ',  '  at  all  events  ', 
are  other  phrases  of  allied  signification. 

Albeit  is  an  expressive  combination,  and  ought  not 
to  be  considered  as  obsolete,  or  old-fashioned. 

10.  (3.)  Conjunctions  of  End,  or  Purpose : 

'  that ',  '  in  order  that ',  '  so— as  ',  '  as— as  ',  '  lest '. 

That  is  the  demonstrative  pronoun,  converted  into 
our  chief  conjunction  of  end. 

'  We  sow,  that  we  may  reap '  ;  *  men  toil,  that  they  may 
attain  to  leisure '.  The  transference  of  the  demonstrative  to 
this  peculiar  use  may  be  explained  by  supposing  that  after  a  fact 
is  stated,  the  hearer  is  ready  to  ask  '  what  then  ?'  '  what  next  ?' 
'  what  of  it  ?'  '  for  what  end  ?'  whereupon  the  demonstrative 
supplies  the  information  desired,  '  that,  (namely)  we  may 
reap '.  Without  assuming  the  natural  desire  to  know  why 
a  thing  is,  or  why  an  assertion  is  made,  we  cannot  well  account 
either  for  this  conjunction  or  for  the  still  greater  blank  of  con- 
necting words  shown  in  the  gerund  construction  :  '  we  sow  to 
reap  '  ;  '  they  stoop  to  rise  ; '  '  born  but  to  die  ' ;  in  all  which  the 
action  expected  to  follow  is  simply  named  in  its  most  naked 
form,  the  hearer  being  looked  upon  as  asking  why  ?  or  wherefore? 


PURPOSE   AND   TIME.  113 

In  order  that  is  somewhat  more  explicit  than  the  simple 
'that';  still  it  fails  to  .express  the  fact  of  end  hy  a  direct 
meaning  :  the  words  '  in  order '  mean  only  '  this  first,  that 
next '  ;  the  hearer  must  himself  suppose  that  the  one  leads  to, 
or  points  to,  the  other.  The  same  phrase  is  interposed  in  the 
gerund  construction  '  we  read  in  order  to  be  informed  '. 

So — as.  '  He  so  acted  as  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
others.' 

This  is  a  kind  of  relative  construction,  the  '  so '  being 
demonstrative,  the  '  as  '  relative.  *  He  acts  in  that  manner, 
by  which  manner  he  gains.'  The  end  is  still  a  matter  of 
inference  more  than  of  direct  information.  The  effect  of  the 
construction  is  to  indicate  not  merely  end,  but  a  certain  express 
suitability  in  the  means  employed  to  compass  the  end. 

Lest  is  the  end  of  avoidance :  '  in  order  not  to '. 
'  They  set  a  strong  guard,  lest  any  one  should  escape.' 
In  the  use  of  this  conjunction  we  should  notice  that  if  the 
principal  verb  contains  the  meaning  of  avoidance,  '  that '  is 
preferable  to  '  lest ';  'I  feared  that  (not  lest)  I  should  be 
deceived '. 

Precaution  is  indicated  by  the  phrases,  provided 
that,  with  the  understanding  that,  with  this 
proviso,  &c. 

Precaution  may  be  viewed  either  as  condition  or  as  end.  It  is 
a  collateral  object  to  be  kept  in  view,  and  fulfilled  along  with 
the  main  purpose.  In  doing  what  is  chiefly  aimed  at,  we  are 
to  secure  certain  other  things  :  '  provided  that  all  is  safe,  you 
may  depart '.  In  Acts  of  Parliament  the  phrase  used  is  '  pro- 
vided always  that '. 

II.  (4.)  Conjunctions  of  Time  are  partly  rela- 
tive Adverbs,  partly  Prepositions  before  clauses :. 
'when',  'while',  'as';  *  until',  'ere',  'before', 
'after'. 

'  I  will  come  when  I  am  at  leisure  ';  'I  will  praise  thee  while 
(so  long  as)  I  live  ';  '  as  I  looked,  some  one  came  near  ' ;  *  they 
remained  until  night  set  in ';  'it  will  be  long  ere  you  have  suck 
a  chance ' ;  '  the  truth  will  come  out  before  we  are  done ' ; 
'  after  the  vote  was  taken,  the  assembly  broke  up  '. 

Immediate  consequence    is   signified   by   various    compound 
connectives  :  'nosooner-^than  ',  'just  when',  'hardly— before', 
*  the  moment  that ',  *  as  soon  as  ',  &c. 
8 


114  PARTS    OF   SPEECH. — THE    INTERJECTION. 

The  INTERJECTION  is  not  properly  a  part  of  speech,  as  it 
does '  not  enter  into  the  construction  of  sentences.  It  is  a 
sudden  exclamation  prompted  by  some  strong  feeling  or  emotion. 
There  are  various  utterances  suited  to  the  different  emotions  of 
the  mind  :  as,  joy,  l  huzza  !'  '  hurra  !'  grief,  '  0  !'  '  ah  !'  '  alas  !' 
wonder,  'hah!  '  approbation,  l  bravo  !'  aversion,  'pugh  !'  'tush  !' 
For  calling  attention,  '  lo  !'  '  hush  !'  &c. 

EXCLAMATION,  one  of  the  figures  of  rhetoric,  employs  words 
of  ordinary  language  in  the  manner  of  interjections  :  '  what !' 
'  for  shame  ! '  '  ah  me  ! '  '  how  strange  !'  '  hark  J* 


X 


115 

INFLEXION. 

The  second  part  of  Etymology,  called  Inflexion, 
treats  of  the  changes  made  on  words  to  express  various 
relations  and  meanings. 

Thus  the  Noun  and  the  Pronoun  are  changed  in  three 
ways,  namely,  to  express  difference  of  Gender,  Number, 
and  Case.  These  changes  constitute  Declension. 

The  Adjective  and  the  Adverb  are  inflected  for 
Degree.  This  process  is  named  Comparison. 

The  Verb  is  changed  to  signify  Person,  Number, 
Time,  &c.  This  is  called  Conjugation. 

The  uninflected  Parts  of  Speech  are  the  Preposition, 
the  Conjunction,  and  the  Interjection. 


INFLEXION  OF  NOUNS. 

GENDER. 

I.  Natural  Gender:    Gender  follows  Sex. 

In  Modern  English,  the  natural  difference  of  sex 
determines  the  gender. 

Beings  possessing  animal  life  are  divided  into  the  two  classes 
or  Sexes,  male  and  female ;  as  man,  woman ;  bull,  cow. 
Plants  and  things  destitute  of  life  have  no  sex. 

To  this  natural  distinction  corresponds  the  division  of  naines; 
according  to  Gender. 

Names  for  individuals  of  the  male  sex  are  of  the 
Masculine  gender;  as  'king',  'man',  'bull'. 

Names  for  the  female  sex  are  of  the  Feminine 
gender ;  as  '  queen ',  *  woman  ',  '  cow  '. 

Strictly  speaking,  these  two  are  the  only  genders  in  Modern 
English. 


116  INFLEXION. — GENDER   OF   NOUNS. 

Names  for  things  without  sex  are  said  to  be  of  the 
Neuter  Gender,  that  is,  are  simply  left  as  of  no 
gender  ;  as  '  gold  ',  '  mountain  ',  '  bread ',  l  oak '. 

'  Neuter '  is  Latin  for  '  neither ' ;  that  is,  here,  neither 
masculine  nor  feminine. 

Many  words  are  applied  to  both  sexes  alike ;  as 
'  parent ',  '  child ',  *  cousin '.  These  are  said  to  be  of 
the  Common  Gender. 

The  names  applied  to  the  greater  number  of  the  inferior 
animals  are  of  this  sort,  it  being  only  in  the  more  important 
and  best  known  species  that  we  are  at  the  pains  to  note  the  sex. 
Thus,  '  trout ',  '  ant ',  '  lizard  ',  are  common  to  both  sexes.  If 
we  wish,  on  occasion,  to  mark  the  sex,  we  use  a  special  designa- 
tion, as  the  prefix  'he'  or  'she',  or  the  adjectives  'male', 
*  female  '.  '  Man ',  and  '  mankind  ',  are  often  used  comprehen- 
sively for  both  sexes.  We  also  use  other  designations,  such  as 
'  actor ',  '  author ',  '  painter ',  *  poet ',  for  both  sexes,  although 
they  are  properly  masculine,  and  have  feminine  derivatives 
('  actress ',  &c.)  The  effect  of  this  is  to  give  very  different 
meanings  to  the  two  phrases  :  '  the  greatest  of  living  actors ', 
and  *  the  greatest  of  living  actresses ',  applied  to  a  woman.  By 
the  first  she  is  designated  the  first  actor  of  either  sex,  by  the 
second  the  first  of  her  own  sex. 

2.  Purely    Grammatical    Gender.     In  Old 

English,  the  gender  is  often  determined,  not  by  the 
meaning,  but  by  the  form. 

In  modern  English,  gender  follows  sex  (with  a  few  exceptions)  ;  that 
is,  masculine  words  and  forms  are  confined  to  the  male  sex,  feminine 
words  and  forms  to  the  female  sex.  But  in  old  English,  as  well  as  in 
many  other  languages,  as  Latin,  Greek,  &c.,  a  poetical  or  figurative 
'process  of  personifying  things  without  life  was  in  extensive  operation, 
by  which  the  distinction  of  gender  was  extended  to  nouns  generally; 
and  the  adjective  was  regularly  inflected  in  three  forms,  for  masculine, 
feminine,  and  neuter. 

Masculine  endings  were  -a,  -end,  -ere,  -ing  (patronymic), 
-dom,  -had,  -scipe,  &c.  ;  as  'mona'  (moon),  'wealderatf'  (wield- 
ing one,  ruler),  '  fiscere '  (fisher),  '  Wo&ning '  (Woden's  son); 
'  wisdom  ',  *  cildhad  '  (childhood),  *  freondscipe '  (friendship). 

Feminine  endings  were  the  abstract  -nis  (from  adj.),  -u,  -ung 
or  -ing  (from  verbs),  &c.  ;  as  '  blithras '  (joy),  '  cam '  (care), 
'leomung'  or  'learning'  (learning). 

Neuter  endings  were  -em,  -lac,  -en  (diminutive),  &c.  ;  as 
'"bern  (for  'bere-aern',  barley-house,  barn),  'cnawZoc'  (know- 
ledge), '  maegdw,  nueden '  (maiden). 


HOW    TO    DISTINGUISH    GENDER. 


117 


In  many  cases  the  distinctive  termination  was  dropt  in  course 
of  time,  the  original  gender  still  remaining  :  '  street '  (for  '  streets ', 
fern.,  street),  &c. 

In  the  13th  century  there  was  great  confusion  of  the  genders  ; 
and  in  the  14th  century,  the  modern  system  was  pretty  well 
established. 

3.  There  are  three  ways  of  distinguishing  the 
Gender  of  Nouns. 

I.  By  employing  different  words:  as  'king, 
queen  ' ;  '  husband,  wife ' ;  '  boy,  girl ' ;  *  cock,  hen  '. 

This  is  a  question  of  the  meaning  of  words,  and  not  of 
grammar.  It  is  not  a  method  of  inflexion,  but  a  substitute  for 
inflexion.  The  number  of  such  words  is  not  great.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  chief:  — 


MASCULINE.    FEMININE. 

MASCULINE.    FEMININE. 

MASCULINE.        FEMININE. 

Bachelor           Maid 

Father       Mother 

Nephew          Niece 

Boar                  Sow 

Friar          Sister 

Papa                 Mamma 

Boy                    Girl 

Gander      Goose 

Ram    or  )       -& 

Bridegroom      Bride 

Gentleman  Lady 

Wether  f      Ewe 

Brother             Sister 

Hart           Roe 

Ruff                 Reeve 

Buck                 Doe 
Bull                   Cow 

Horse  or  \  M 
Stallion  jMare 

«;,•-„-)          (  Madam 
L     t        I  Darae  <* 

Bullock  or)      TTpjf,,, 

Husband  Wife 

&ire    j          (     dam 

Steer       $     Helfer 

King          Queen 

Sloven             Slut 

Cock                  Hen 

Lad             Lass 

Son                  Daughter 

Colt  or  Foal      Filly 
Dog  or  Hound  Bitch 

Lord           Lady 
Mallard     Wild  duck 

Stag                 Hind 
Tailor              Seamstress 

Drake                Duck 

Man           Woman 

Tiitor              Governess 

Drone                Bee 

Milter        Spawner 

Uncle              Aunt 

Earl                Countess 

Monk         Nun 

Wizard             Witch 

Some  of  these  names,  though  distinct  in  appearance,  are  very 
closely  connected  in  their  original  forms.  Thus,  '  gander  '  (old 
gan-d-ra,  =  ganr-a  =  gaiis-a ;  d  being  euphonic,  r  being  sub- 
stituted for  an  older  s,  and  a  the  masc.  termination)  and  'goose  ' 
(old  gos,  for  gons,  gans)  are  radically  the  same  word.  '  Nephew  ' 
and  '  niece '  come  through  French  from  Lat.  nepos  and  neptis. 
According  to  Dr.  Morris,  '  lord ',  old  English  hluford,  is  for 
hluf- weard  (loaf- keeper),  and  the  corresponding  feminine  is  hluf- 
weardige,  contracted  to  old  hl&fdige,  which  in  course  of  time 
became  'lady'.  'Colt',  'foal',  and  'filly',  have  been  traced 
to  a  radical  connexion.  '  King '  and  '  queen  '  may  possibly  be, 
at  bottom,  the  masc.  and  fern,  forms  of  the  same  word.  '  Lass' 
may  be  for  '  lad-ess  '.  '  Man  ',  in  old  English,  was  of  both 
genders  ;  '  woman  '  is  0.  E.  wif-man  (wife-man). 

'  Bridegroom  '  is  a  corruption  of  old  brydguma,  (bride's 
man) ;  guma  (man)  being  cognate  with  Lat.  homo, — as  gans 


118 


INFLEXION. — GENDER    OF    NOUNS. 


(goose)  is  cognate  with  Lat.  (h)anser.  '  Countess '  is  the 
derivative  feminine  of  '  count ',  the  French  name  for  '  earl '. 
4  Ciirl '  was  of  either  gender  as  late  as  the  14th  century,  signifying 
'  a  little  child  '. 

'  Drake  '  is  explained,  by  reference  to  cognate  forms,  as  a  con- 
traction of  end-rake  (duck -king)  :  cp.  Germ,  enterich  (drake) : 
it  is  wholly  distinct  from  '  duck '. 

The  giving  of  different  words  to  denote  gender  is  an 
exceptional  usage,  and  is  accounted  for  in  most  cases 
by  the  great  difference  of  function  of  the  two  sexes. 

Thus  men  and  women  perform  offices  so  different,  and 
sustain  characters  so  distinct  through  the  various  relationships 
of  life,  that  we  are  not  surprised  at  their  being  designated  by 
different  words.  A  *  daughter  '  is  literally  '  the  milker  ',  or 
4  milkmaid ',  because  that  was  the  office  that  the  daughters  of 
the  house  fulfilled  in  early  pastoral  times.  So  the  '  horse  '  and 
4 mare',  the  4  bull  or  ox*  and  'cow',  the  'ram'  and  'ewe', 
&c.,  have  broadly  marked  distinctions  in  their  uses  and  employ- 
ments, which  probably  suggested  the  difference  of  appellation 
in  each  case. 

In  a  few  instances  there  is  a  noun  of  common  gender 
as  well  as  separate  designations  of  the  sexes. 


Thus— 

Child 
Deer 
Fowl 
Horse 


Son  or  Daughter 
Hart  or  Roe 
Cock  or  Hen 
Stallion  or  Mare 


Sovereign 

Parent 

Pig 


King  or  Queen 
Father  or  Mother 
Boar  or  Sow 
Earn  or  Ewe. 


These  are  also  various  compounds  : — 


Foster-father  Foster-mother 
Gaffer  (grand-  Gammer  fgrand'- 

pere)  mere) 

Gentle-man  Gentle-woman 
Grand-father  Graud-mother 
Land-lord  Land-lady 


Mer-man 


Mer-maid 


Milk-man 

Moor-cock 

Pea-cock 

Step-father 

Step-son 

Turkey-cock 

French-man 


Milk-maid 

Moor-hen 

Pea-hen 

Step-mother 

Step-daughter 

Turkey-hen 

French-woman 


4.  II.  By  prefixing  a  word  indicating  the 
sex ; 


MASCULINES. 

Male-servant 
Jtfon-servant 
A/cra-kind 
7/e-bear 
We-goat 

FEMININE. 

.Female-servant 
.Afe'd-servant 
Woman-kind 
Sfo-bear 
S/ic-goat 

MASCULINE. 
Boar-pig 
.Bwc/t-rabbit 
.Bit«-calf 
<?oc£-sparrow 
Dog-fox. 

FEMININE. 

Sow-pig 
Doe-rabbit 
Ctae-calf 
7/eu-spurrow 
Bitch-ion 

DISTINCTIVE   ENDINGS.  119 

'  "Woman '  (wif-m&n,  wife-man)  is  originally  an  instance 
under  this  head.  '  JJ/an-child  ',  and  *  knave-girl '  for  '  boy  ', 
'tom-cat'  (old  '  carZ-eatt '),  'ewe-lamb',  'g'wee/i-bee  ',  &c.,  are 
similar  examples. 

5.  III.  By  the  use  of  distinctive  suffixes,  or 
terminations  :  -ess,  -trix,  -ine,  -a,  (Romance  suffixes), 
-en,  -ster,  for  adding  to  the  masculine  to  make  the 
feminine;  and  -er,  rake,  for  adding  to  the  feminine 
to  make  the  masculine. 

This  is  the  only  mode  of  real  inflexion. 

-ess  (Fr.  esse,  M.  Lat.  issa  )  is  the  ordinary  femi- 
nine suffix  in  Modern  English. 

Up  till  about  the  middle  of  the  14th  century,  -ess  was 
attached  only  to  a  few  words,  these  words  being,  like  itself,  of 
Norman-French  origin.  In  the  second  half  of  the  14th  cen- 
tury, it  became  established  as  the  usual  feminine  ending  for 
nouns  of  whate' ver  origin. 

Sometimes  -ess  is  added  to  the  masculine,  without 
further  change : 


MASC.  FEM. 

Baron  Baroness 

Count  Countess 

Dauphin  Dauphinesa 

Deacon  Deaconess 

Giant  Giantess 


MASC.  FEM. 

Heir  Heiress 

Host  Hostess 

Jew  Jewess 

Lion  Lioness 

Mayor  Mayoress 


MASC.  FEM. 

Patron  Patroness 

Peer  Peeress 

Poet  Poetess 

Priest  Priestess 

Prophet  Prophete*-* 


'Tutor-ess',   'viscount-ess',    and    many    others,    might    be 
added.     '  God,  god-d-ess  ';    '  prince,  princ-ess  ' ;  *  ogre,  ogress  '. 

Sometimes  the  special  masculine  ending  is  omitted 
before  -ess  is  added  : 


MASC.  FEM. 

Abbot  Abbess 

Negro  Negresa 

Governor  Governess 


MASC.  FEM. 

Caterer  Cateres* 

Murderer  Murderess 

Sorcerer  Sorceress 


'  Abbot '  is  0.  E.  abbod,  Lat.  abbatem  ;  '  abbess '  is  shortened 
from  'abbudisse  '  (Lat.  abbatissam) ,  the  oldest  example  of  this 
ending  in  English.  '  Governor,  -ess  ',  '  murderer,  -ess  ',  &o. , 
practically  add  the  masc.  or  the  fern,  termination  to  the  verb 
root ;  the  addition  of  -ess  to  the  masculine  would  make  a 
•troublesome  pronunciation.  '  Sorcerer  '  is  a  corruption  of  Fr. 
sorrier,  Lat.  sortiarium  (from  sortcs,  lots,  oracles)  ;  '  sorceress  ' 
seems  to  be  formed  on  much  the  same  principle  as  the  preceding. 


INFLEXION. — GENDER  OP  NOUNS. 


Sometimes  the  masculine  ending  is,  or  appears  to  "be, 
modified  before  ess  is  added  : 


MASC. 

Actor 

Benefactor 

Conductor 

Doctor 

Duke 

Emperor 

Enchanter 


FEM. 
Actress 
Benefactress 
Conductress 
Doctress 
Duchess 
Empress 
Enchantress 


MASC. 

Founder 

Instructor 

Marquis 

Master 

Protector 

Tiger 

Traitor 


FEM. 

Foundress 

Instructress 

Marchioness 

Mistress 

Protectress 

Tigress 

Traitress 


'  Duchess  '  is  old  Fr.  diic-esse,  duch-esse.  '  Emperor  '  is  Fr. 
empereur,  shortened  from  Lat.  imperatorem  ;  '  empress '  was 
previously  '  emperesse  '  (13th  century),  'emperice'  (12th  cen- 
tury), a  shortening  of  Fr.  imperatrice,  Lat.  impertitricem.  '  Mar- 
chioness '  is  Lat.  marchionissa,  from  masc.  form  marchio(nem). 
'  Mistress  '  corresponds  to  '  mister '  rather  than  to  '  master ' ; 
in  0.  E.  the  forms  were  maister,  maist(e)resse. 

-trix,  the  feminine  form  of  Lat.  -tor,  is  found  in  a 
few  nouns  that  come  direct  from  the  Latin : 


MASC. 

Adjutor 

Administrator 

Director 


FEM. 

Adjutria; 

Administratrix 

Directrix 


MASC. 
Executor 
Heritor 
Testator 


FEM. 

Executrix 

Heritrix 

Testatrix 


Director  mrectnx  Testator  jestatrix 

'  Proprietor '    has    both    '  proprietrix  '    and    '  proprietress  '. 

'  Directress  '  also  occurs.     '  Empress  '  has  just  been  explained. 

*  Nurse ',  older  nurice,  norise,  F.  nourrice,  Lat.  nutrlcem. 

-ine,  -ina,  is  especially  frequent  in  proper  names  of 
women. 


MASC. 

Hera 
Czar 


FEM. 

Heroin* 
Czarina 


MASC. 

Landgrave 
Margrave 


FEM. 

Landgravine 
Margravine 


Caroline,  Josephine,  Pauline ;  Alex(andr)wia,  &c. 
-a  occurs  in  some  Eomance  words  : 


MASC.  FEM. 

Don  Donna 

Sultan  Sultana 

1  Beau  '  (old  '  bel'),  'belfe 


MASC.  FEM. 

Infant«  Infanta. 

Signore  Signora. 

come  direct  from  French. 


-en  and  -ster  are  the  native  ^Teutonic    endings. 
Both  are  now  obsolete. 
-en  remains  only  in  ' 


DISTINCTIVE    ENDINGS. 

The  form  '  vixen  '  is  a  dialectic  variation  of  '  fyxen  ',  the 
regular  0.  E.  fern,  of  '  fox  '.  The  vowel  o  changes  to  y  under 
the  influence  of  the  coming  e  (in  -en)  :  compare  '  god  ',  '  gyden  ' 

,  'fuch 


(goddess)  ;  '  wulf  ',  '  wylf'en  '  (she-wolf)  ;  Germ, 

'gott,  gottin',  'wolf,  wolfin'.     The  same  change  is  also  seen  in 

*  man,    men  ',    '  cock,    chicken  '   (O.    E.    cycen),  '  gold,    0.  E. 
gylden  (golden)'. 

The  real  mark  of  the  feminine,  e,  had  been  dropt  even  in  the 
earliest  English  ;  the  en,  although  taken  practically  as  a  mark 
of  gender,  is  in  fact  a  mark  of  possession.  Dr.  Morris  illustrates 
this  by  quoting  Sanskrit  Indra  (name  of  a  God),  Indrani 
(Indra's  wife),  and  Lithuanian  gandras  (stork),  fern,  gandrene  ; 
where  -n  and  -en  denote  possession,  -i  and  -e  the  fern,  gender. 

-en  was  common  in  old  English,  but  had  almost  died  out  in 
the  14th  century. 

Compare  -in  in  Scotch  'carl-m'  ('female  carl',  old  woman). 

Ster  remains  in  '  spinier*. 

'  Spinster  '  is  a  feminine  word,  as  meaning  '  an  unmarried; 
female';  it  originally  meant  'a  female  spinner'.  In  old 
English  the  male  agent  was  denoted  by  -ere,  the  female  by. 
•estre  :  '  bcec-ere  (baker),  bcec-estre  ',  '  sang  '-ere  (singer),  sang-estre',. 
f  webbere  (weaver),  webbestre  '.  A  good  many  feminines  in  -ster 
were  in  use  as  late  as  the  16th  century  ;  but  when  -ess  became 
the  prevailing  feminine  termination  in  the  14th  century,  words 
in  ster  came  gradually  and  largely  to  be  used  as  masculine,  or 
as  expressing  the  agent  in  general.  Hence  'songster',  as  mas- 
culine, forms  '  song-str-ess  ',  with  double  feminine  ending  ;  and 
'  seam-str-ess  ',  '  s^in-str-ess  ',  '  t&ip-str-ess  ',  &c.,  show  a  like 
history.  -Ster  now  indicates  mostly  the  agent:  'throwster', 

*  whipster  ',     '  punster  ',     '  trickster  ',     '  gamester  ',    &c.     The 
sense  of    depreciation    connected  with    some    of    the  words, 
arises  from  the  nature  of  the  action  more  than  from  the  special 
ending. 

-er  forms  'widower*  (masc.)  from  'widow*  (fern.). 

In  0.  E.  the  forms  were  'widuwa'  (masc.)  and  'widuwc' 
(fern.)  ;  but  when  the  distinctive  terminations  were  lost,  '  widow  ' 
was  appropriated  to  the  feminine,  and  the  necessity  arose  for  a 
masculine  form. 

'  Drake  ',  and  '  gander  ',  have  already  been  mentioned  as 
other  masculines  formed  from  feminines,  'end'  (duck),  zndgans 
(older  form  of  '  goose  '). 

'  Bridegroom  ?,  a  compound,  was  previously  nDted  as  formed 
from  'bride'. 


122  INFLEXION. GENDER   OF   NOUNS. 

6.  Poetical    gender,   or   Personification. — 

Inanimate  objects  are  sometimes  spoken  of  as  male  or 
female,  and  are  then  said  to  be  personified.  Ihus,  it 
is  customary  with  us,  as  with  the  Greeks  and  Eomans, 
to  speak  of  the  Sun  as  masculine,  and  of  the  Moon  as 
feminine. 

The  sun  (fern,  in  0.  E.  and  modern  German),  time,  summer, 
winter,  the  morn,  death,  anger,  fear,  despair,  are  made  mascu- 
line ;  the  moon  (masc.  in  0.  E.  and  modern  German),  the  earth, 
the  'dawn,  night,  Nature,  the  Church,  Hope,  Pity,  are  feminine. 
The  planets  are  some  masculine  and  some  feminine,  according 
to  the  sex  of  the  deities  that  they  owe  their  names  to  :  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  Mercury,  &c.  ;  Venus,  Pallas,  Vesta,  &c.  This  is  now 
considered  a  poetic  licence. 

The  modern  English  practice  of  confining  distinction  of 
gender  to  difference  of  sex,  renders  those  occasional  deviations 
very  impressive,  by  actually  suggesting  to  the  mind  the  idea  of 
personal  existence  and  attributes ;  whereas  in  Old  English, 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  &c.,  the  assigning  of  gender  to  things 
inanimate  produces  no  effect  on  the  mind.  A  German  speaks 
of  his  spoon  as  he,  his  fork  as  she,  and  his  knife  as  it. 

The  motives  for  assigning  the  masculine  gender  to  some  things,  and 
the  feminine  gender  to  others,  are  supposed  to  be  the  following  :— Things 
remarkable  for  strength,  superiority,  majesty,  sublimity,  as  Death,  Time, 
Winter,  War,  have  been  looked  upon  as  masculine.  Gentleness,  beauty 
and  grace,  fertility  or  productiveness,  belonging  or  imagined  to  belong, 
to  things,  suggest  a  feminine  personification  ;  as  the  Earth,  Spring,  Hope, 
Virtue,  Truth,  Justice,  Mercy,  Peace.  Things  very  much  identified  with 
their  owner  are  occasionally  spoken  of  as  she  •  the  seamaii  calls  his  ship 
'  she ' ;  to  call  a  watch  or  a  clock  '  she  '  is  a  common  Scotticism. 

7.  The  knowledge  of  the  Gender  of   a   Noun   is 
necessary  in  order  to  the  correct  use  of  the 
Pronouns,  '  he  ',  '  she ',  '  it ',  and  their  inflexions  and 
derivatives. 

The  concord  of  the  common  gender  is  arranged  thus.  For 
the  more  distinguished  beings,  we  may  use  the  masculine,  in 
its  representative  sense ;  as  in  speaking  of  a  member  of  the 
human  family,  we  may  say  '  he ',  although  women  are  also 
included.  The  most  correct  form,  although  somewhat  clumsy, 
is  to  say  '  he  or  she '.  (See  Syntax — Concord  of  Pronouns.) 


NUMBER 

1.  Singular   and    Plural.— When   a  Noun   (or 
Pronoun)  names  a  single  object,  it  is  said  to  be  of  the 
Singular  Number  ;  as  '  book  ',  *  man  '. 

When  more  than  one  are  named,  the  Noun  usually 
undergoes  a  change,  and  is  then  said  to  be  of  the 
Plural  Number ;  as  '  books ',  '  men  '. 

The  singular  is  the  original  form  of  the  noun. 
In  old  English  a  dual  number  existed,  but  only  in  the  per- 
sonal pronouns  of  the  first  and  second  persons. 

2.  The  Plural  is  formed  in  English,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  by  adding  -s  (or  -es)  to  the  Singular: 

'  ship,  '  ship* '. 

In  Old  English  there  was  a  class  of  masculine  nouns  forming 
the  plural  by  the  addition  of  -as  to  the  singular  ;  as  '  smith  ', 
plur.  '  smith-as '.  In  later  English  this  -as  became  -es  ;  as 
'smith  ',  plur.  'smith-es'.  This  came  very  near  the  -s  or  -x  of 
the  Norman-French,  and  the  consequence  was  that  the  form  in 
•es  was  extended  to  English  nouns  generally,  all  the  other 
old  English  plural  endings  being  dropped.  The  change  came 
into  operation  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century.  In  the  next 
century,  -es  began  to  cease  to  be  pronounced  as  a  separate 
syllable,  and  the  -e-  was  dropt  :  '  smithes  '  became  '  smiths '. 

The  bringing  of  the  -s  into  the  same  syllable  with  preceding 
letters  (other  than  '  e  ')  led  to  certain  phonetic  modifications. 

(1.)  When  the  Noun  ends  in  a  surd  or  sharp  con- 
sonant (-p,  -/,  -#,  -th  [as  in  *  smith  \  '  thin '],  -£),  the  -S 
has  its  own  proper  surd  or  sharp  sound  as  in 
'gas,'  '  sea ' :  as  '  crops  ',  '  beliefs ',  *  cats ',  '  wreaths  ', 
'  books '. 

This  is  a  necessity  of  pronunciation  ;  we  are  unable  to  pro- 
nounce  a  surd  and  a  sonant  together  ;  we  cannot  say  'cropz', 
'beliefz'  'catz',  without  such  a  pause  between  the  letters  as 
would  constitute  a  new  syllable.  The  same  reason  determines 
the  next  rule  (2). 

Exceptions  in  '  -/'.  Nouns  of  native  origin  ending 
in  -/  preceded  by  a  long  vowel  (except  '  oo ')  or  by 


'!',  change  the  -f  into  -v*;  and  -s  is  pro- 
nounced as  -z:  4krf.k»Tes'  (Var),  'wife,  raw' 
(««):  ' 


'  <*«*),   'calf,  «lTW*;   ' 

rf  •/•*«»•  to»gs 
«^  im^ia  fwl  -* 


WW«A«t^dU  «r  i— g  ' « '.  pi  LI  in  •/*,  tke  p«erJ 

"•" 


,  the  -S  has 


BBGO-AB  A5TD 


L 


lL-5 


the  corresponding  sonant  or  flat  sound  -z :  m 
'cabs',    (=  kabz),    'graves'   (pnfez},    'god* 
«boGti»',  «bog«',  'palms',  'p»',  *bdL 


In 'bah 


Im«,^MdB«C^MK 

faij,  -j^e,  or  -d^c  [=y=tiz4],  *=[fa]),  the  earlier 
is  retained  : « <ot*fi,  CTOSK*  \'P"»^  P"»'»  * 


Nouns  ending  in  -y  preceded  by  a 
nant   change  the  -5  into   -ie~s  to   focm  the 


But  nouns  having  a  vowel    before  -y  are 

regular  (See  (2))  :  'boy,  bopr',  '^Bey, 


::,:   •  s 


;•:  tit  • 


126  INFLEXION. — NUMBER  OP  NOUNS. 

The  foregoing  are  the  regular  and  modern 
processes  of  forming  the  plural  in  English. 

3.  Obsolete  modes  of  inflexion  are  still  seen 
in  a  small  number  of  Nouns  as  '  man,  men ' ;  'ox, 
oxew ' ;  '  brother,  brethren ' ;  *  cow,  kine ' ;  *  child, 
children '. 

Change  of  vowel  is  seen  in  the  following  words  : 


SINGULAR. 

Man  (O.  E.  man) 

Foot  (O.  E.  f6t) 
Goose  (O.  E.  g6s) 
Tooth  (0.  E.  toth) 

Louse  (O.  E.  Itis) 
Mouse  (0.  E.  mus) 
Cow  (O.  E.  eu) 


PJLURAL. 

Men  (O.  E.  men) 

Feet  (O.  E.  fit) 
Geese  (O.  E.  gts) 
Teeth  (O.  E.  tetk) 

Lice  (O.  E.  #*) 
Mice  (O.  E.  m$s) 
Ki(ne)(O.E.  c$),  Scot.  kye. 


The  vowel  change  is  not  an  inflexion ;  it  is  only  an  incidental 
•result  of  the  real  inflexion,  the  ending  representing  which  is 
>now  lost.  The  original  plural  of  '  man '  was  '  manni ' ;  and  the 
:modifying  influence  of  final  -i  softened  -a-  into  -e-  ;  so 
that  on  the  falling  away  of  the  inflexional  ending,  the  plural 
.appeared  as  '  men '.  So  '  fet '  is  for  'foti ',  '  lys '  for  '  liis-i ', 
'  mys  '  for  '  miis-i ',  &c. 

In  0.  E.  a  few  other  nouns  similarly  modified  their  root 
vowels:  as  *boc  (book),  bee';  '  broc,  bre'c'  ('breeches',  Scot. 
'  breeks '),  '  turf,  tyrf  ;  '  burh  (burgh,  borough),  byrig ' ;  'furh 
(furrow),  fyrh  orfyrig ' ;  '  wilit  (wight,  creature),  wuht '. 

The  ending  -en  now  remains  only  in  *ox-ew* 
(0.  E.  '  ox-an  '). 

In  old  English  -an  was  a  very  common  termination  ;  later 
it  was  modified  to  -en.  Other  examples,  not  long  obsolete  or 
still  in  provincial  use,  are  'een'  (Chaucer's  and  Spenser's 
'  eyen ',  *  eye-en  '  0.  E.  eag-ari),  '  esen '  (eaves,  0.  E.  efescn, 
esen),  '  hosen  '  and  '  shooa '  (=:'  shoe-en ',  0.  E.  scon),  '  house-n ', 
'peat-en',  'pesen'  (peas),  'pull-en'  (fowls),  'toon'  (toes), 
*tree-n',  &c. 

A  few  nouns  were  later  assimilated  to  the  -en 
ending  ;  as  '  brethren  ',  '  children ',  '  kine  '. 

'  Brethren'.  The  plural  of  '  brothor  '  was  first  '  brothr-w '  or 
*  brothr-a '  ;  later  *  brothr-e ',  '  brethr-e ',  '  brether ' ;  then 
1  brotlum ',  '  brethren- '. 


OBSOLETE  AND  FOREIGN  FORMATIONS. 


127 


Afodor  (mother),  dohter  (daughter),  siveoster  (sister),  were 
declined  in  the  same  way  in  0.  E.,  and  had  a  partly  similar 
history. 

'  Children  '.  0.  E.  '  cild  '  (child)  had  for  plural  '  cild-r-w  ', 
which  was  modified  to  lchildr-e'  and  'child-er',  '  child-rcn '. 
and  '  child-er-w '. 

Compare  '  calvren '  (from  0.  E.  cealf,  '  calf '),  '  eyren '  (from 
0.  E.  ceg,  '  egg '),  and  '  lambren '  (from  0.  E.  lamb),  all  long 
obsolete. 

'Kine'.  0.  E.  'cu'  (cow)  formed  its  plural,  as  we  have 
seen,  '  cy  ',  or  '  ky ' ;  later,  it  took  on  '  -en ',  and  became 
*  kin ',  *  ken ',  '  kine ',  a  double  plural.  *  Cows '  is  now  the 
regular  and  common  usage. 


4.  Some  Nouns  have 
numbers  :   as   *  deer'. 


the  same 

sheep  ', 


form 


swne 


in  both 

*  grouse ', 


*  teal ',    '  mackerel ',    '  trout ',    '  salmon ',    *  heathen 
'  cannon '. 

This  corresponds  to  a  class  of  neuter  nouns  that  had  lost  their 
(nominative)  plural  inflexion  in  the  oldest  English  :  O.  E.  dear 
(sing,  and  plur. ),  *  deer '  ;  sceap  (sing,  and  plur. ),  '  sheep  '  ; 
swin  (sing,  and  plur.),  'swine'  ;  &c. 

5.  Foreign  Words. — Many  words  borrowed  from 
other  languages  retain  their  original  plurals  : 

'  foczis,     foci ' ;     '  genws,     genera ' ;    '  beau,    beaux  ' ; 

*  cherub,  cherubim.' 


PLURAL. 

Analyse* 
Axes 


The  following  are  a  few  of  the  most  usual  :  — 

SINGULAR. 

PLURAL. 

SINGULAR. 

Formula 

Formula 

Analysis 

Larva 

Larvae 

Axis 

Nebula 

Nebulae 

Basis 

Magwa 

Magi 

Appendia? 

Radius 

Radii 

Radix 

Tumulus 

Tumuli 

Vortex 

Ammalculum 

Animalcula 

Series 

Datum 

Data 

Species 

Effluvium 

Effluvia 

Superficies 

Medium 

Media 

Apparatus 

Momentum 

Momenta 

Sir 

Stratum 

Strata 

Madame 

Criterion 

.  Criteria 

Bandit 

Phenomenon 

Phenomena 

Virtuoso 

Miasma 

Miasmata 

Seraph 

Appendices 

Radices 

Vortices 


change.) 

Messieurs 
Mesdames 
Banditti 
Virtuosi 
Seraph  im 


'  Messieurs '  is  French  ;  '  mes  sieurs  '  being  literally  *  my 
sirs '.  We  have  not  adopted  the  corresponding  singular 
1  monsieur '  (mon  sieur).  So  '  madam  '  is  our  form  of  '  madame ' 


128  INFLEXION. — NUMBER  OF  NOUNS. 

(ma  dame,  'my  lady');  and  'mesdames'  (mes  dames}  is  the 
unmodified  French  plural.  When  a  foreign  word  passes  into 
common  use,  the  tendency  is  to  adopt  the  English  plural. 
Thus  we  have  '  genius-es  ',  'crocus-es'  'vivariums',  '  memo- 
.randums ',  '  encomiums  ',  '  dogmas  ',  '  formulas  ',  '  cherubs  ', 
'seraphs',  'bandits'.  Some  foreign  words  have  currency 
chiefly  in  the  plural ;  as  '  errata  ',  '  arcana  ',  '  dilettanti ', 
'  antipodes '. 

6.  Some  Nouns  have  two  plurals,  with  separate 
meanings. 


SING. 

Brother 

Cloth 

Die 

Genius 

Index 

Pea 

Pen  113' 

Shot 


PLURAL. 


Brothers  (by  blood) ;  brethren  (of  a  community). 

Cloths  (kinds  or  pieces  of  cloth)  ;  clothes  (garments). 

Dies  (stamps  for  coining) ;  dice  (for  gaming). 

Geniuses  (men  of  original  power)  ;  genii  (spirits). 

Indexes  (to  a  book)  ;  indices  (signs  in  Algebra). 

Pe;is  (separate  seeds)  ;  pease  (collective). 

Pennies  (separate  coins)  ;  pence  (collective ;  as  '  fourpence  0. 

Shot  (the  number  of  balls)  ;  shots  (the  number  of  times  fired).  " 

'  Pea  '  is  a  modern  formation  from  '  pease  '  (0.  E.  pisa,  pese), 
which  was  singular.  The  old  plural  pesen  (and  pescs)  dropt  its 
distinctive  ending,  and  thus  plural  and  singular  became  the 
same  in  form  :  the  -s  end-sound  gradually  restricted  the  common 
form  to  the  plural  use,  and  '  pea '  carne  to  be  used  as  singular. 
From  '  pea ',  the  plural  '  peas  '  is  a  regular  and  modern  forma- 
tion. 

1  Penny  '  is  0.  E.  pening  or  penig  ;  pi.  penigas,  later  penny  es, 
pens,  pence. 

The  restriction  of  the  separate  forms  to  the  different  mean- 
ings is  quite  modern. 

7.  The  Plurals  of  a  few  Nouns  seem  to  differ  in 
meaning  from  the  Singulars:  'compass,  com- 
passes ' ;  '  corn,  corns  ' ;  *  iron,  irons  ' ;  «  salt,  salts  ' ; 
'  content,  contents  ' ;  '  domino,  dominoes  ; '  '  good, 
goods  ' ;  '  vesper,  vespers  '. 

Some  nouns  seem  to  have  two  meanings  in  the  singular,  only 
one  of  which,  and  this  the  least  common,  corresponds  to  the 
plural.  'Corn',  'iron',  &c.,  being  names  of  materials,  do  not 
take  a  plural  form  ;  *  corns  ',  '  irons  ',  &c.  are  the  plurals  of  new 
singulars  with  different  meanings  (See  below,  §  12  ;  and  p.  20), 
'  a  corn ',  '  an  iron  ',  &c.  '  Compass  ',  '  content ',  '  good  ',  and 
other  abstract  nouns,  similarly  give  rise  to  new  singulars  (or 
might  do  so),  and  hence  '  compasses  ',  '  contents  ',  &c.  (See 
below,  §  13;  and  page  22,  §  13).  Other  words,  such  as 


SPECIAL  CASES.  129 

'domino',  have  quite  distinct  singular  meanings,  and  conse- 
quently quite  distinct  plural  meanings. 

Further  examples  are  :  '  antic,  antics  ' ;  '  beef,  beeves  '  (see 
§  2);  'draught,  draughts';  'forfeit,  forfeits';  'grain, 
grains';  'ground,  grounds';  'scale,  scales';  'spectacle, 
spectacles '. 

Some  nouns  have  two  meanings  in  the  plural,  one  correspond- 
ing to  the  singular,  the  other  distinct  from  it : 


SING. 
Custom 
Letter 
Number 
Pain 
Part 


PLURAL. 


Customs  :  (1)  habits  ;  (2)  revenue  duties. 
Letters  :  (1)  of  alphabet  ;  (2)  literature. 
Numbers  :  (1)  in  counting  ;  (2)  in  poetry. 
Pains  :  (1)  sufferings  ;  (2)  trouble,  care. 
Parts  :  (1)  bits,  divisions  ;  (2)  faculties,  abilities. 


'  Custom '  is  often  used  collectively  or  abstractly  in  the  second 
sense  of  the  plural  form.  The  second  meaning  is,  in  all  these 
cases,  a  rhetorical  extension  of  the  first. 

8.  Some  Nouns  are  used  only  in  the  Plural. 

*  Aborigines ',  '  amends ',  '  annals  ',  '  antipodes ',  '  assets  ', 
'  archives  ',  '  banns  ',  '  bellows ',  '  billiards ',  *  bowels  ', 
1  breeches ',  '  calends  ',  '  credentials  ',  '  dregs ',  '  entrails  ', 
'  filings ',  '  gallows  ',  '  hustings ',  '  ides ',  '  lees  ',  '  matins ', 
'  measles ',  '  molasses  ',  '  news  ',  '  nones ',  '  nuptials  ',  '  oats  ", 
'  obsequies  ',  '  odds ',  '  pincers ',  '  pliers ',  '  premises  ',  '  scissors  ', 
'shambles',  'shears',  'snuffers',  'spectacles',  'thanks', 
'  tidings  ',  '  tongs  ',  '  trappings ',  '  trousers ',  '  tweezers ', 
'  vespers  ',  '  victuals ' ,  '  vitals  ',  '  wages  '. 

Some  of  thesQ  nouns  name  complex  objects  with  an 
obvious  plurality  of  parts  : 

Especially  tools,  instruments,  &c. ;  as  'bellows',  *  pincers', 
'  pliers ',  '  scissors  ',  '  tongs  ',  &c. 

And  articles  of  clothing ;  as  '  breeches ',  '  drawers ',  '  trousers '. 

Others  name  collectively  masses  or  aggregates  of 
individuals,  real  or  imagined. 

Such  are  '  aborigines  ',  '  archives  ',  '  ashes  ',  '  billiards  *, 
'  bowels ',  '  dregs  ',  '  filings  ',  '  molasses ',  '  moustaches ', 
1  proceeds ' ;  '  dumps ',  '  measles ',  '  sulks '. 

9.  Plural  forms  construed  as  Singular  are 

not  uncommon  :  *  amends ',  '  barracks  ',  4  bellows  ', 
*  gallows  ',  '  innings  '  (at  cricket),  *  means',  *  news', 
'  odds ',  *  pains',  '  shambles ',  *  tidings ',  &c, 

y 


130  INFLEXION. NUMBER  OP  NOUNS. 

'A  gallows'   (Goldsmith);    '  the  gallows  itself   (Cooper). 

*  Means ',  according  to  most  grammarians,  is  to  be  u.sed  in 
the  singular   when   the   signification    is   singular,  and   in   the 
plural  when  the  signification   is  plural.     We  may  soy,  accord- 
ingly,  '  this  means',  or    'these    means',  as   the  case   requires. 
The   singular    form    'mean'    is    to   be   found   in   the  present 
century  (Sir  W.  Hamilton,  Carlyle,  &c.). 

*  News '  in  old    English  was   commonly   plural :    *  thc-se  are 
news  indeed  '  (Shak.)  ;  but  now  it  is  uniformly  singular:    'ill 
news  runs  apace  '.     The  singular  form  '  new  '  never  existed. 

'  Small-jt>oa? ',  is  a  plural  disguised  by  a  new  spelling  :  '  pox '  is 
for  '  pocks '.  As  the  name  of  a  disease,  '  small-pox''  is  singular. 

'Tidings'  is  plural.  It  is  commonly  used  by  Shakespeare  as 
a  plural  noun,  but  in  some  instances  he  makes  it  singular  : 
'  that  tidings  came  ' ;  '  a  tidings '  (Antony  and  Cleopatra). 

Names  of  sciences,  or  of  parts  of  sciences,  often  appear  in 
plural  form,  being  literal  translations  of  the  classical  terms  : 
'acoustics',  'economies',  'mathematics',  'optics',  'physics', 
'  politics ',  '  statics ',  &c.  Yet  as  naming  collective  i  I  es  of 
doctrine,  they  take  a  singular  verb:  'optics  is  the  science  of 
light'.  Sometimes  the  singular  form  is  found:  'logic '(and, 
in  the  Irish  universities,  '  logics  '),  '  metaphytdc  '  and  '  meta- 
physics', &c. 

The  singular  forms  '  amend ',  *  gallow  ',  *  mean  ',  '  nuptial ', 
'  pain  ',  '  tiding ',  '  thank  ',  '  wage  ',  occur  in  old  English. 

10.  Singular   forms    treated    as    Plural  :— 

*  alms  ',  '  eaves  ',  '  riches '. 

'  Alms '.  O.  E.  celmesse,  almesse,  dimes ;  plur.  celmc*san, 
elmessen,  almessex.  '  None  was  heard  to  ask  ftn  alms ' 

(Macaulay).  'The  alms  they  receive  are '  shows  the 

transition. 

'  Eaves '.     0.  E.  yfes,  efese,  eves ;  Jpl«r.  e/csen  (esen),  crcses. 

'Riches'.  O.  E.  ruhe.<sse  (from  French);  plur.  'richesses'. 
'In  one  hour  is  so  great  riehts  come  to  naught  (R&v.).  '  Michcn 
profit  not'  is  an  example  of  the  changed  use.  Riches  in  a 
cultured  community  are  the  strangest  of  things.  .  -  Thwj  ate 
the  readiest  of  possibilities  '  (Carlyle). 

'Summons'  (O.  Fr.  semonse,  0.  E.  somons),  another  apparent 
plural,  is  really  singular,  and  is  used  as  such  ;  pi.  '  summonses  ', 
regularly. 

11.  Proper  Nouns  sometimes  apply  to  one  person, 
and  are  therefore  Singular,  and  sometimes  to  several 
persons,  and  then  admit  of  the  Plural :  *  The  Browns 
have  gone  to-  the  country  '. 


SPECIAL  CASES.  131 

12.  Names    of  Materials   have  no  Plural;  as 

'  gold  ',  '  air  ',  '  butter  '. 

But  when  there  are  different  qualities,  or  separate  portions,  of 
the  material,  the  noun  becomes  a  class  noun,  and  the  plural  is 
.  regularly  used  ;  as  '  sugars ',  '  wines  ',  '  clays ',  '  airs  ',  '  teas ', 
'soups'.  '  Sands '  is  used  because  the  material  is  made  up  of 
distinct  particles,  which  we  can  therefore  suppose  to  be 
mi  inhered.  (See  further  p.  20). 

13.  Abstract  Nouns  have  no  Plural:  as  'wisdom', 

*  pride  ',  '  baseness  ',  *  might ',  '  whiteness',  '  elasticity  ', 
'opacity'. 

Occasionally  these  nouns  seem  to  be  in  the  plural.  The 
plurals,  however,  are  then  class  nouns,  and  signify,  not  the 
abstract  quality,  but  particular  actioiis  or  particidar  varieties  of 
•the  qualit'j ;  as  '  liberties  ',  '  virtues ',  '  vices ',  '  negligeneies  ', 
'  lengths  ',  '  forces '. 

Or  they 'may  really  signify  something  in  the  concrete;  as 
'  transparencies '.  (See  further  §  7,  above  ;  and  p.  22,  §  13). 

14.  Nouns  of   multitude,  although  singular  in 

form,  have  a  plural  meaning  and  construction:  '  vermin ', 
'  cattle  ',  '  crowd  ',  '  people  ',  '  folk  ',  *  '  infantry  ', 
1  tenantry  ',  *  Englishry  ',  '  poultry  ',  '  fowl ',  '  fish  '. 

15.  The  omission  of  the  Indefinite  Article 

with  Nouns  that  take  that  Article  before  them,  is  a 
sign  of  the  Plural. 

The  proper  declension  of  a  noun  is  :  (singular)  *  a  house, 
(plural)  houses  ' ;  '  a  man,  men  ' ;  'a  sheep,  sheep  '. 

16.  Plural  Inflexion  disused.— With  a  numeral, 
the  sign  of  the  Plural  is  often  dispensed  with  :  '  five 
pound  ',  '  ten  sail ',  *  two  brace  of  birds ',  '  four  pair  ', 

*  two  dozen  ',  '  a  three-/oo£  rule  ',  '  twenty  year ',  '  forty 
head   of    cattle ',    *  a   thousand   horse ',    '  two   million 
vtand  of  arms  ',  'thirty  change  of  garments'. 

This  omission  probably  originated  in  connexion  with  the  one- 
syllable  flexionless  plurals  (nominative)  already  mentioned 
(§4);  such  as  'deer',  'head',  '  hoi'oe ',  'pound',  'sheep', 
'year',  &c.  It  has  evidently  been  much  favoured  by  the 
circumstance  that  the  numeral  indicates  the  fact  of  plurality, 


132  INFLEXION. — NUMBER   OF    NOUNS. 

and  therefore  renders  the  plural  inflexion  unnecessary.  Indeed 
the  means  of  making  known  plurality  are  superabundant,  as 
we  may  see  from  such  an  instance  as  the  following  :  '  Four 
children  were  at  their  lessons,  the  good  creatures'.  Here  the 
plurality  is  expressed  by  six  different  marks  :  1st,  the  numeral ; 
2nd,  the  plural  inflexion,  '  children  '  ;  3rd,  the  verb  '  were  ' ; 
4th,  '  their '  ;  5th,  the  plural  of  the  word  in  apposition, 
'  creatures '  ;  6th,  the  omission  of  the  article. 

There  are  certain  further  cases  where  the  plural  inflexion  is 
idiomatically  dropt.  'He  has  no  objections  (objection) ';  'I  was 
in  las  favours  (favour) ';  '  they  were  dressed  in  blacks  (black) '. 
In  the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  however,  an  attribute  common  to 
several  persons  was  often  put  in  the  plural.  Shakespeare  has — 
'  I  will  requite  your  loves '  ;  '  br^ak  not  your  sleeps  for  that ' ; 
'then  bring  me  to  their  sights',  &c.  Bacon  and  Shakespeare 
have  '  blacks  '.  Milton  has  '  take  our  leaves  '  (  =  departure). 

17.  Strictly  speaking,  the  Plural  form  declares  only 
that  there  are  more  than  one  of  the  thing  named  ;  but 
we  are  able  often  to  infer  besides  something 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  number. 

'  We  are  to  have  friends  this  evening ',  means  some  or  a  few. 
'  He  keeps  horses ',  implies  the  same.  '  He  sells  bonks ',  refers 
to  the  nature  of  his  occupation.  '  Men  say '  is  men  in  general ; 
all  that  have  an  opportunity  of  speaking  on  the  subject.  '  Sheep 
are  meek  animals '  ;  the  whole  race  of  sheep  :  '  m-cn  are 
mortal '  ;  all  men.  Thus  the  context  may  indicate  sufficiently 
that  the  number  spoken  of  is  a  few,  a  great  number,  or  the 
whole  of  the  thing  spoken  of. 

18.  The    Plural    of   Compound    Nouns    is 

generally  formed  by  inflecting  the  'principal  Notm ;  as 
'  sons-in-law ',  *  goings-out ',  *  maids-oi'-hoiiour ',  *  maid- 
servants ',  '  man-stealers '. 

Where  the  words  are  so  closely  allied  that  the  meaning  is 
incomplete  till  the  whole  is  known,  the  '  s'  is  added  at  the  end  : 
as  '  pailful* ',  the  '  three  per  cents  ',  '  forget-me-not* '. 

We  may  say  either  '  the  Misses  Brown  ',  or  '  the  Miss  Browns', 
or  even  'the  Misses  Browns'.  'The  Misses  Brown'  has  a 
collective  effect ;  '  the  Miss  Browns '  rather  implies  separate 
action..  But  in  commercial  life  we  say  '  the  Messrs  Brown  '. 

A  few  titles  composed  of  two  nouns  in  apposition  have  both 
nouns  inflected  after  the  manner  of  the  French  :  '  Knights 
Templars  ',  '  lords-justices ',  &c. 


133 


CASE. 

1.  Case    is   an  inflexion  of  the  Noun  (or  of  the 
Pronoun),  showing  its  relation  to  other  words  ; 

as  '  the  master's  voice  ',  where   the   addition  of  -s  to 
1  master '    shows    that    '  voice '   is    the    property    of 

*  master '. 

In  many  languages  those  inflexions  are  more  numerous. 
Besides  the  relation  expressed  above,  called  the  possessive  or 
genitive  relation,  there  are  several  others  in  the  oldest  English, 
as  well  as  in  Greek,  Latin,  &c.,  denominated  dative,  ablative, 
&c.  In  modern  English,  prepositions  serve  the  purpose  served 
in  those  languages  by  the  various  case-endings  :  '  patri '  is  '  to 
a  father',  '  patre  'is  '  by  a  father '.  We  can  also  substitute  for 
the  possessive  inflexion  in  our  own  language  the  preposition 

*  of ' ;  '  the  voice  of  the  master '. 

2.  There  are  said  to  be  three   cases  in  modern 
English,— Nominative,  Possessive,  and  Objec- 
tive ;  but   in   nouns  the  Possessive  is  the  only  case 
where  inflexion  occurs.     Nominative,  '  man';  possessive, 

*  man's ' ;  objective,  (  man '. 

In  the  oldest  English,  nouns  had  six  (or  at  least  four)  cases. 
"With  the  exception  of  the  Genitive  or  Possessive,  hardly  a  trace 
of  these  remains  in  the  language  as  used  now.  The  Pronouns 
hav«  preserved  a  few  more  remnants  of  their  old  case-endings. 

Except  foi%  the  pronouns,  the  distinction  of  nominative  and 
objective  would  not  be  kept  up,  as  the  form  of  the  noun  can 
never  show  whether  it  is  nominative  or  objective.  For  nouns, 
these  names  have  a  meaning  only  in  construction  with  verbs  ; 
the  one  corresponding  to  the  subject  (the  nominative),  the  other 
to  the  object  of  the. sentence. 

The  Dative  case  remains,  without  inflexion,  in  some  con- 
structions :  '  give  the  boy  a  penny  ',  *  send  the  Captain  help  ', 
'  woe  worth  the  day  ',  &c.  The  Instrumental  or  Ablative  case, 
which  in  nouns  had  the  same  form  as  the  Dative,  no  longer 
shows  any  inflexion, 

3.  The  Possessive  is  formed  in  the  Singular 
by  adding  to  the  Noun  the  letter '  s'  preceded 
by  an  apostrophe :  '  John,  John's '. 


134  INFLEXION.  —  CASE  OF  NOUNS. 

In  the  Plural  no  addition  is  made,  except 
the  apostrophe:  'fathers,  fathers".  But  if  the 
Plural  does  not  end  in  s,  the  general  rule  for  the  Sin- 
gular is  then  applied  :  '  the  children'*  bread  '. 

The  reason  for  not  adding  '  s  '  to  the  regular  plurals  is  the 
difficulty  of  pronunciation  :  '  fathers,  fathers 's  '. 

In  the  oldest  English,  the  genitive  of  masculine  and  neuter 
nouns  was  most  commonly  formed  in  -es  :  'smith,  smithes'; 
'  ila'g  (day),  dsegcs '  :  'scip  (ship,,  scipes '.  Chaucer  has 
'  cristes  gospel ',  '  beddes  (bed's)  heed  (head) ' ;  much  later,  the 
-es  ceased  to  be  pronounced  as  a  separate  syllable,  and  the  '  e ' 
dro])t  out  in  writing,  its  absence  being  signified  by  the  apos- 
trophe (').  Dr.  Morris  thinks  that  "  (')  was  at  first  probably 
used  to  distinguish  the  genitive  from  the  plural  suffix,"  and 
that  "  its  use  may  have  been  established  from  a  false  theory  of 
the  origin  of  the  genitive  case,  which  was  thoroughly  believed 
in  from  Ben.  Jonson's  to  Addison's  time  " — that  -s  was  a  con- 
traction of  '  his  ',  whence  such  expressions  as  '  the  prince  his 
(for  pritwe's)  house  '.  This  substitution  of  his  for  -es  dates 
from  the  13th  century.  The  full  form  -es  yet  exists  in 

*  Wedn-es-day '  ("Woden-es-dseg). 

In  the  oldest  English,  the  feminine  and  the  plural  genitives 
were  formed  by  other  endings;  but  by  the  13th  century  these 
had  begun  to  be  dropt  and  -es  to  take  their  place. 

The  omission  of  the  vowel,  and  the  consequent  sounding  of 
the  '  s '  in  the  same  syllable  as  the  letter  preceding,  leads  to 
varieties  of  pronunciation,  such  as  those  described  for  the  forma- 
tion of  plurals  ;  the  '  s '  being  sometimes  sounded  sharp,  as 
'life's',  and  sometimes  flat :  'God's  ',  'Jacob's'.  (See  Number.) 

4.  The  '  s  '  is  omitted  in  the  Singular  when 
too  many  hissing  sounds  wonld  come  together : 

*  Socrates'  wife  ',  '  for  conscience'  sake',  *  for  goodness' 
sake  ',  '  for  Jesus '  sake  '. 

"We  say  '  St.  James's  and  St.  Giles's  ',  '  Moses's ',  '  Douglas's ', 
'  Burns's '.  The  general  rule  is  adhered  to  as  much  as  possible. 
When  the  word  consists  of  more  than  two  syllables,  the  '  s  '  is 
dropt,  as  '  Euripides'  dramas  '.  In  poetry  it  is  frequently 
omitted  :  Bacchus',  ^Eneas',  Epirus',  Hellas'. 

"  In  O.  E.,  fifteenth  century,  if  the  noun  ended  in  a  sibilant 
or  was  followed  by  a  word  beginning  with  a  sibilant,  the  poss- 
essive sign  was  dropt;  as  'a  goose  egg',  'the  river  side  '." 
(Morris). 


FORMATION  AND  LIMITATION  OF  THE  POSSESSIVE.  135 

5.  In  Compound  Nouns  1  he  suffix  is  attached 
to   the   last   word  ;  as    *  heir-at-law'* ',    '  the  queen  of 
England's '. 

Even  when  there  are  two  sep  rate  names,  the  s  is  added  only 
to  the  last,  as,  '  Kobeitson  and  Reid's  office'  ;  'John,  William, 
and  Mary's  uncle '. 

In  older  English,  down  to  the  16th  century,  the  usual  con- 
struction' is  seen  in  sii'-h  examples  as  t  S&berhtes  death  east 
seaxna  cyninycs'  (Bed.  ii,  5,  quoted  by  Morris), =s  Scebcrht's 
death,  the  East  Saxons'  king's '  =  '  SccbcrJd,  the  East  Saxons' 
king's  death  '  or  *  the  death  of  Sceberht  the  king  of  the  East 
Saxons  ' ;  *  for  the  Lordts  love  of  heaven, '  (Piers  the  Plowman) 
=  '  the  Lord  of  heavens  love  ';  *  his  brothers  death  the  Duke  of 
Clarence*  (Sir  T.  More);  'for  King  Henry's  sake  the  sixth* 
(More).  BJTOII  writes  '  for  the  Queen's  sake,  his  sister '.  The 
separation  of  the  possessive  from  a  modifying  adjective  clause  is 
very  common.  In  this  case  the  clause  would  be  much  too  long 
to  intervene  before  the  noun  ;  but  the  l»est  plan  is  to  substitute 
for  the  possessive,  and  allow  the  antecedent  to  come  down  close 
to  the  relative.  '  This  way  will  direct  you  to  a,  gentleman's 
house  tfiat  hath  skill  to  take  off  these  burdens'1  (Bunyan)  :  say 
'  to  th«  house  of  a  gentleman  that  hath  skill,  &c  '. 

6.  The  Possessive  Inflexion  is  principally 
limited  to  persons,  animals,  and  personified 
objects.    We  may  say  'John's  occupation',  'the  kincfs 
crown ',  '  the  lion's  inane  ',  '  the  mountain's  brow ';  but 
not  '  the  home's  roof '  (for  '  the  roof  of  tlie  house '),  '  the 
street's  width  ',  '  the  book's  price  '. 

Thus  it  is  only  a  select  number  of  nouns  that  admit  of  the 
inflexion  :  for  the  great  mass  we  must  use  the  \  reposition  '  of. 
This  very  much  diminishes  the  importance  of  the  only  case- 
inflexion  that  the  language  retains,  rendering  it  an  exception 
rather  than  the  rule.  The  examples  of  its  use  may  be  classified 
as  follows  : — 

1.  Proper  names  of  persons:   'Peter's  pence',  'John's 

farm '.  For  these  the  possessive  inflexion  is  preferred,  although 
it  is  not  exclusively  employed;  'David's  psalms '(the  psalms 
of  JMvid)  ;  '  Plato's  philosophy  '  (the  philosophy  of  Plato). 

2.  Class  designations  of  persons :  as '  judge ',  *  farmer ', 
'  soldier  '.     *  The  hero's  harp  ',  '  the  lover's  lute ',  *  the  enemy'g 
camp*. 

*  And  Zion's  daughters  pour'd  their  lays 
With  priest's  aud  uxu-j-iw's  voice  between.* 


136  INFLEXION. — CASE    OF    XuUNS. 

3.  Animals  '•  *  the  cat's  mew  ',  'the  eagle's  flight ',  'the  ant*s 
industry  ',   '  the  elephant's  tusk '.     The  other   form  is  equally 


4  Dignified  objects  that  we  are  accustomed  to  hear  per- 
sonified :  '  the  sun's  rays  ',  '  the  moon's  rising ',  '  the  earth's  sur- 
face ',  '  the  tor-rent's  rage  ',  '  the  lightning's  flash  ',  '  tJie  volcano's 
heavings  ',  '  the  morning's  ray  ',  a  '  man-of-icars  rigging  ', 
'fortune's  smile',  'melancholy's  child',  'the  last  trumpet's 
awful  voice',  '  and  love's  and  friendship's  finely  pointed  dart ', 
'  the  clamour  of  the  Ch  itrch's  being  in  danger ',  '  time's 
follower',  'nature's  voice',  'eternity's  stillness',  'perdition's 
dream  '. 

The  powers  Of  the  human  mind  are  sometimes  personi- 
fied  ;  whence  we  have  '  reason's  voice ',  'passion's  lure ',  '  for 
conscience'  sake  ',  'imagination's  range',  'fancy's  flight '. 

The  collective  interests  of  humanity  may  be  treated  in 

the  same  way  :  'history's  business',  'society's  Well-being*,  'the 
law's  delay '. 

Poets  naturally  carry  the  usage  farther  than  prose  writers  : — 
'Seeking  the  bubble  reputation  at  the  cannon's  mouth  '  (Shak.). 
4  He  sat  him  down  at  a  pillar's  base  '  (Byron).  There  are 

instances  in  ordinary  speech,  where  the  possessive  is 
used  without  personification,  but  they  are  rare  ;  as  '  for 
appearances'  sake ',  '  for  acquaintance's  sake ' ;  and  even  in  these 
the  other  form,  with  the  preposition,  is  more  usual.  In  old 
English  the  inflexion  was  quite  common.  There  are  certain 
phrases  where  a  period  of  time  is  governed  in  the  possessive 
by  the  action  or  state  that  the  time  relates  to  :  '  a  day's  leave  ', 
'  a  month's  holiday  ',  *  a  few  hours'  intercourse  ',  '  the  Thirty- 
years'  war'. 

But  we  are  not  now  permitted  to  make  indiscriminate  use 
of  this  inflexion  ;  such  expressions  as  '  what  is  the  cheese's 
weight?'  'who  was  gunpowder's  inventor?'  '  copper's  value ', 
*  heat's  laws  ',  would  be  a  violation  of  all  usage. 

7 .  It  would  be  correct  to  call  the  Possessive  in  '  s ' 
the  inflexion  of  personal  possession,  or 
attribute. 

Sentient  beings  may  have  their  possessions,  properties,  or 
attributes  expressed  by  being  inflected  in  this  manner  :  '  the 
merchant's  wealth ',  'the  ambassador's  credentials ',  'the  tiger's 
ferocity '.  When  an  inanimate  Object  so  far  impresses  the 
mind  that  we  think  of  it  as  haying  sense  and  Will,  we  may 
bestow  upon  it  the  personal  ending  '  s  ',  just  as  we  may  ascribe 


CASE-INFLEXION    OF    PRONOUNS.  137 

to  it  human  passions  and  features  :  '  the  tempest's  fury ',  '  Time's 
hoary  locks ',  *  Death's  fatal  arrow  '. 

For  the  meanings  of  the   genitive  in  English  as  regularly 
expressed  by  the  preposition  '  of ',  see  Prepositions. 

8.  Further  remnants  of  Case-Inflexion  are 

seen  in  certain  pronouns  and  adverbs. 


a.r-3'2 

INFLEXION  OF  PRONOUNS. 

1.  Pronouns  are  inflected  almost  solely  for 
Case.     A  Pronoun  differs  from  a  Noun  in  having  a 
distinct  form,  called  the  Objective  Case,  used  when  it 
stands  as  the  object  after  a  verb  or  a  Preposition  ;  as 
*  I  saw  him  ' ;  '  he  saw  me,  and  spoke  to  me  '.     Ex- 
amples of  the  true  Dative  inflexion  also  remain. 

There  is  no  inflexion  for  gender  in  the  pronouns.  Those 
that  express  difference  of  sex  have  different  words  for  the 
purpose  : — '  he,  she,  it '  ;  '  who,  which,  what '.  The  -t  in  '  it ', 
'  that ',  '  what ',  does  indeed  mark  neuter  gender  (  §  3),  but 
only  to  the  eye  of  the  philologist. 

The  same  remark  applies  to  number  |  the  plural  is  not 
expressed  by  an  addition  to  the  singular,  but  by  a  distinct  word 
in  each  number  :  '  I,  we  ' ;  '  thou,  you ' ;  '  he,  she,  it, — they ' ; 
while  the  relative  and  interrogative  pronouns  are  the  same  for 
both  singular  and  plural. 

2.  The  Personal  Pronouns  are  thus  declined  : — 

SINGULAR. 

Nominative.  Possessive.  Dative.         Objective. 

1st  person,    I  Mine,  My  Me  Me, 

2nd  person,  Thou  Thine,  Thy  Thee  Thee. 

PLURAL. 

1st  person,    We  Our,  Ours  Us  TJs 

2nd  person,  Ye  or  You    Your,  Yours  You  You 

In  old  English,  down  to  the  latter  part  of  the  13th  century, 
there  existed  a  dual  declension  of  the  personal  pronouns  (first 
and  second).  Norn,  icit  (we  two),  gen.  uncer,  dat.  unc,  ace. 
unc  (uncit,  archaic  and  poetical).  Nom.  git  (you  two),  gen, 
incer,  dat.  inct  ace.  inc  (incit,  archaic  and  poetical). 


138  INFLEXION   OF   PRONOUNS. 

I,  in  the  oldest  English,  ic,  has  now  lost  the  final  guttural: 
A  middle  form  ich,  seen  in  icham  (Ich  am,  I  am),  ichabbe  (Ich 
habbe,  I  have),  ichille  (Ich  icille,  I  will),  &c.,  still  exists  in 
dialects  in  the  south  of  England.  Compare  Germ,  ich,  Dan. 
jeg,  Gr.  and  Lat.  ego. 

Ye,  you.  Down  till  the  16th  century,  '  ye '  (0.  E.  ge)  was 
nominative,  and  '  you '  (0.  E.  eow)  dative  and  accusative. 

Mine,  thine,  (0.  E.  min,  thin,  :  the  final  e  simply  shows 
that  the  i  is  long)  are  the  oldest  forms.  My,  thy,  drop  the 
inflexional  ending  -n  ;  a  process  dating  from  the  12th  century. 

Our,  your  (0.  E.  user,  ure ;  eower)  retain  the  genitive 
ending  -r.  Ours,  yours,  are  double  forms,  adding  to  *  our ', 
'  your ',  a  second  genitive  ending  -s  ;  they  ' '  made  their  first 
appearance  in  the  Northern  dialects  of  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries,  and  are  due  to  Scandinavian  influence  ". 
(Morris). 

Me,  thee,  US,  you,  as  datives,  correspond  to  the  0.  E. 
datives,  me,  the,  us,  eow.  They  still  appear  as  datives  in 
certain  constructions.  '  Jfeseems  ',  *  w<ethinks  '  =  '  (it)  seems, 
thinks  (=  appears)  to  me '.  '  Woe  worth  him  '  =  '  woe  worth 
(=  be) to  him'.  *  Show  me  that.'  '  You  had  better  go'  was 
freely  used  in  the  16th  century  for  '  you  were  bett&r  go  '  : 
that  is,  '  (it)  were  (=  would  be,  subj.)  better  for  you  (to)  go  V 
In  '  he  steps  me  to  a  trencher ',  '  the  skilful  shepherd  peeled 
me  certain  wands ',  and  such  like,  '  me '  seems  to  appropriate 
the  narrative  of  the  action  to  the  speaker,  and  to  be  equivalent 
to  '  mark  me ',  '  /  tell  you  '  (Abbott). 

As  objectives,  the  same  forms  correspond  to  the  0.  E.  accusa- 
tives me  (mec,  archaic  :  compare  Germ,  mick),  the  (thee},  us 
(usic),  eow  (eowic). 

3.  The  Demonstratives,  or  Pronouns  of  the 
third  person,  are  declined  as  follows  : — 

SINGULAR. 

Nominative.  Possessive.  Dative.  Objective. 

He                    His  Him                   Him. 

She                  Her,  Hers  Her                   Her. 

It                     Its  It                     It. 

PLURAL. 

They  Their,  Theirs    Them  Them 

He,  his.  'His'  is  the  regular  genitive  of  an  original 
(supposed)  form  hi. 

Him,  now  both  dative  and  objective,  was  only  dative  in  0.  E. 
The  0.  E.  accusative  was  hine,  which  was  gradually  supplanted 


PERSONAL   AND    DEMONSTRATIVE.  139 

by  the  dative  form  him  in  the  13th  and  14th  centuries.     Hi-m 
shews  dative  ending  -m,  attached  to  the  root  hi-. 

She.  The  0.  E.  heo  died  out  in  the  14th  century,  having 
been  slowly  superseded  during  two  centuries  by  'she',  a  new 
application  of  the  feminine  definite  article  (0.  E.  seo,  sio ;  sccc, 
sco  ;  sche). 

Her,  hers.  '  Her '  (0.  E.  hire,  here]  preserves  the  genitive 
ending  -re.  'Hers 'is  a  double  genitive,  like  'ours',  'yours' 
(§  2).  The  dative  '  her '  also  preserves  the  dative  ending  of  the 
0.  E.  forms  hire,  here.  The  objective  '  her '  is  the  dative  form 
re-applied,  an  early  substitution  for  the  0.  E.  ace.  hi,  heo. 

It,  nom.  and  obj.,  has  dropt  the  h  of  the  0.  E.  form  hit. 
'Hit 'is  the  regular  neuter  of  'he  (hi)',  by  addition  of  the 
neuter  ending  -t :  compare  'thai!',  'wha£',  Lat.  '  id\  'quod', 
&c.  '  It',  dative,  has  taken  the  place  of  0.  E.  him,  the  regular 
inflexion. 

Its  stands  for  0.  E.  his.  The  form  was  unknown  before  the 
sixteenth  century,  occurring  but  rarely  in  Shakespeare,  arid  not 
at  all  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible ;  the  meaning  being  given 
by  'his'  (the  regular  0.  E.  form)  and  'thereof'.  The  old 
possessive,  his,  stood  for  both  masculine  and  neuter,  creating 
aii  obstacle  to  the  personifying  power  of  the  word.  Milton 
seems  to  have  felt  this,  and  never  uses  the  form  '  his '  in  the 
neuter  sense,  while  he  evades  the  occasions  of  resorting  to  '  its  '. 
Dryden  adopted  the  new  form  fully. 

From  the  14th  to  the  17th  century  hit  or  it  was  sometimes 
used  in  place  of  his  (neut.)  or  its ;  especially  in  reference  to 
children,  or  depreciatingly.  '  That  which  groweth  of  it  own 
accord  '  (Levit.  xxv.  5).  '  The  innocent  milk  in  it  most  innocent 
mouth '  ( Winter's  Tale,  iii.  2). 

From  the  14th  to  the  16th  century,  '  the  own'  was  sometimes 
used  in  place  of  'his  (its)  own  '.  '  Gold,  which  of  the  own  nature 
is  a  thing  so  unprofitable,  &c. '  (Sir  T.  More's  Utopia,  ii.  : 
Robinson's  transl.,  1556). 

There  is  a  curious  contrast  between  the  possessive  inflexion  of 
nouns  and  this  possessive.  The  nouns  so  inflected  are  almost 
exclusively  names  of  persons,  while  'it'  is  the  pronoun  of 
things.  We  cannot  say  '  the  room's  height ',  but  we  can  say 
'  its  height '. 

The  form  'of  it'  is  sometimes  to  be  preferred.  When  the 
noun  is  emphatic,  the  preposition  is  preferable  :  thus,  '  the 
weight  of  it ',  '  the  value  of  it ',  better  enables  us  to  throw  the 
emphasis  on  the  noun,  than  if  we  were  to  say  '  its  weight ',  'its 
Value '. 

They,  the  modern  form  of  0.  E.  thd,  the  common  nom.  plur. 


140  INFLEXION  OF  PRONOUNS. 

of  the  0.  E.  definite  article,  began  to  drive  out  the  regular  0. 
E.  plural,  hi  (later  Mg,  lieo)  in  the  13th  century. 

Their,  theirs.  '  Their ',  the  modern  form  of  the  0.  E. 
thdra,  the  common  genitive  plural  of  the  0.  E.  def.  art., 
similarly  usurped  the  place  of  the  regular  0.  E.  hira,  heora  ; 
hire,  heore.  The  gen.  ending  is  preserved.  '  Theirs '  is  a  double 
genitive,  like  '  ours  ',  '  yours  ',  '  hers '  (§  2). 

Them  is  the  dat.  pi.  of  the  def.  art.  thcem,  thdm,  replacing 
the  regular  0.  E.  him  (later  heom,  hem).  The  obj.  « them '  is  a 
new  application  of  the  dat.  form,  in  place  of  the  0.  E.  ace.  hi 
(hig,  heo).  But  for  this  transference  of  the  dat.  form,  we  should 
have  expected  *  they  '  for  obj.  as  well  as  noni.,  0.  E.  thd  serving 
both  purposes. 

This  and  that  have  no  case  inflexion  ;  they  have  a 
plural  inflexion,  these,  those. 

This  was  varied  for  gender  in  0.  E.  :  thes  (m.),  the»s  (fern.), 
this  (n.).  The  neuter  form  has  been  extended  to  all  genders. 
The  common  0.  E.  plur.  was  thds ;  later  thes,  these,  thise, 

this. 

That  was  originally  the  neuter  of  the  def.  art.  :  se,  the  (m.), 
seo  (f.),  thcet  (n.).  By  the  13th  century  it  was  extended  to  all 
genders  ;  and  next  century,  it  had  full  demonstrative  force. 
The  plur.  those  is  O.  E.  'thds,  borrowed  in  the  14th  century 
from  '  this '.  '  That '  had  previously  kept  its  regular  plur.  tha, 
tho,  the  plur.  of  the  definite  article. 

The  Indefinite  pronoun  one,  in  the  sense  of  '  one  cannot 
be  sure  of  that',  is  declined  in  the  singular,  but  has  no  plural : 

*  one's  legitimate  expectations  should  be  respected '. 

'  One '  as  in  '  the  young  ones  ',  is  declined  like  a  noun  :  *  one, 
'  one's  ;  plural,  '  ones,  ones'  '. 

Other  has  poss.  sing.  '  other's  '  ;  plur.  nom.  '  others  ',  poss. 
'  others' '  ;  like  a  noun.  The  0.  E.  plur.  was  '  othere '  ;  hence 
'  other '  was  often  used  as  plur.  between  the  dropping  of  the  old 
inflexion  and  the  adding  of  the  regular  modern  inflexion  -s. 

*  Another '  is  simply  '  an  other '. 

*  None ',  '  any  ',  '  each  ',  *  either ',  '  neither  ',  &c. ,  take  the 
possessive  inflexion  :  '  none's ',  &c. 

4.  The  Reflexive  Pronouns  are  marked  by  the 
word  self. 


SINGULAR. 


1st  person  :  Myself,  (ourself) 
2nd  person :  Thyself,  yourself 


PLURAL. 

Ourselves 

Yourselves 

Themselves 


REFLEXIVE,    INTERROGATIVE,    RELATIVE.  141 

'  Self  adds  emphasis.  It  was  originally  an  adjective  (=same), 
joined  to  nouns  and  pronouns,  and  inflected  regularly.  Nom. 
ic  seJf(a),  gen.  min  selfes,  dat.  me  sclfum,  ace.  me  selfne. 
Then  the  dative  of  the  pronoun  was  sometimes  inserted  between 
the  two  :  '  ic  me  self  (or  silf)  ',  '  thu  Hie  silf  ',  '  he  him  silf  '  ; 
'  we  us  silfe  ',  'ge  eow  silfe  ',  '  hi  him  silfe  '. 

The  dative  of  the  Personal  Reflexives  was  turned  into  genitive 
in  the  13th  century,  'self  having  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
noun.  Thus  'I  me  self  became  .'I  mi  (my)  self  ;  'thu  the 
self  became  'thu  thi  (thy)  self;  and  so  "owrself,  yourself  \ 
These  last  were  plurals,  the  -e  and  -en  inflexions  being  dropt  ; 
but  they  necessarily  conformed  to  the  usage  of  nouns  in  '-elf, 
and  became  'ourselves',  '  yourselves  '  as  plurals,  and  'ourself, 
*  yourself  '  as  singulars. 

The  dative  of  the  demonstratives  remains,  except  in  two  cases. 
'Oneself  is  frequently  written  'one's  self.  And  '  his  own 
self,  'their  precious  selves',  &c.,  show  that  with  a  qualifying 
word  before  '  self  '  (which  is  then  regarded  as  a  noun),  the  poss. 
forms,  'his',  'their',  &c.,  may  be  used.  '  Herself',  ' 


contain  the  dative  forms  '  her  ',   \it  ',  not  the  possessive  forms 
'her  ',  'its  '. 

5.  The  Interrogative  Pronouns  that  undergo 
declension  are  who  and  what. 

Who  (O.E.  hwd,  masc.  and  fern.)  ;  poss.  whose  (0.  E. 
hwctis)  ;  dative  and  objective,  whom  (O.E.  dat.  hivcem,  hwdm), 
The  -e  of  '  whose  '  is  not  inflexional  ;  it  merely  indicates  that 
the  o  is  long  :  the  -s  is  a  true  genitive  ending.  The  O.  E,  ace. 
hwone  gave  way  to  the  dat.  form  in  the  13th  century  :  the  -m 
of  '  whom  '  preserves  the  old  dative  ending. 

'Who'  may  also  be  regarded  as  a  modern  objective  form, 
side  by  side  with  '  whom  '.  For  many  gooi  writers  and 
speakers  say  '  who  are  you  talking  of  "I  '  who  does  the  garden 
belong  to  ?  '  '  who  is  this  for  ?  '  '  who  from  ?  '  &c. 

What  (0.  E.  hwcet,  neut.  :  compare  §  3,  'it');  poss.  whose 
(0.  E.  hwces)  ;  dat.  and  obj.  what  (0.  E.  ace.  hwcet  ;  the  0.  E. 
dat-was  kiccem,  hwdm). 

Which  is  often  the  nominative  corresponding  in  meaning  to 
'  whose  '  ;  but  '  whose  '  never  was  a  genitive  from  '  which  ', 
historically. 

6.  The    Relative     Pronouns  have    only  two 
inflected  forms:  whose  and  whom. 

Who  (masc.  and  fern.  ;  sometimes  neut.)  can  hardly  be  regarded 
as  a  relative  till  the  16th  century.  The  poss.  whose  and  tto 
obj.  whom  had  been  relatives  in  the  12th  century. 


142  INFLEXION    OF    PRONOUNS. 

What  is  etymologically  the  neuter  of  'who  ',  but  practically 
it  is  now  equivalent  to  '  that  which '.  Its  function  as  neuter 
relative,  as  well  as  its  poss.  '  whose  ',  long  ago  went  over  to 
'which'  and  'that'. 

Which,  is  now  the  neuter  practically  corresponding  to  *  who', 
but  till  recently  it  was  often  used  as  masc.  or  fern.  also.  It  bor- 
rowed from  '  who '  and  '  what '  the  poss.  '  whose '. 

That  is  used  for  all  genders  and  both  numbers.  It  is  inde- 
clinable ;  but  it  supplies  the  want  of  a  poss.  by  borrowing 
'whose'  from  'who'  and  'what'.  'That'  became  clearly 
relative  in  the  12th  century.  Chaucer  indicates  distinctions 
of  gender  and  case  by  associating  a  demonstrative  with  it  : 
'  that  he'  =  *  who  ',  or  '  that '  (nom.)  ;  '  that  his '  =  '  whose '  ; 
'  that  him '  -  '  whom  '  or  '  that '  (obj.). 

Certain  Compound  Relatives  take  the  possessive  inflexion. 
'  I  would  not  hurt  a  hair  of  her  head,  whose  ever  daughter  she 
may  be '  (Goldsmith,  Good-Natured  Man,  v. )  '  Whose  tongue 
soe'er  speaks  false  not  truly  speaks'  (Shak.,  King  John,  iv.  3). 

Substitutes  for  Relative  Inflexions. 

"When  we  come  to  discriminate  the  two  relatives— the  co-ordi- 
nating and  the  restrictive — we  find  the  modes  of  expressing  the 
case-meanings  of  them  in  practice  to  be  somewhat  complicated. 

To  begin  with  who.  When  we  have  occasion  to  express  the 
idea  of  strict  personal  possession,  we  may  say  whose,  and  also 
of  whom  :  '  God,  whose  offspring  we  are ',  '  of  whom  we  are 
the  offspring'.  Of  course  when  the  meaning  is  not  personal 
possession,  but  reference,  'of  whom'  is  used,  or  'whom — of  ; 
'  he  encountered  the  keeper,  of  whom  he  knew  nothing ',  '  whom 
he  knew  nothing  of. 

Which.  When  we  have  to  use  a  possessive  form  of  the 
neuter  relative  of  co-ordination,  we  have  a  choice  between  of 
which,  whereof,  and  whose.  The  preferable  form  is  'of 
which',  or  'which — of;  the  other  forms  are  better  suited  to 
the  restrictive  relative  :  '  the  alkaline  bases,  of  which  the 
peculiarity  is  ' ;  '  the  doctrines  in  question,  of  which  this  is  the 
sum ',  '  which  this  is  the  sum  of.  The  forms  '  whose  ',  '  where- 
of ',  are  also  admitted  ;  but  perspicuity  is  gained  fly  reserving 
them  for  the  other  relative.  'They  agreed  in  regarding  the 
national  voice,  whose  (co-ordinating)  independence  they  main- 
tained, as  expressed  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  in. 
parliament.' 

That.  No  inflexion  is  provided  for  the  relative  of  restriction. 
TJO  express  the  meaning  corresponding  to  the  possessive  in- 
flexion, these  are  the  forms :  that  of,  whereof,  and  whose. 


RELATIVES   AND    THEIR   SUBSTITUTES.  143 

The  first  is  unmistakable,  and  to  be  preferred.  The  others 
serve  for  the  co-ordinating  relatives ;  but  they  have,  to  the 
ear  familiar  with  idiomatic  English,  still  more  the  restrictive 
effect :  'the  person  that  I  gave  you  the  name  of — 'the  person 
whose  name  1  gave  you  ' ;  '  the  tribunal  of  public  opinion  is  one 
whose  decisions  it  is  not  easy  to  despise' — 'one  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  despise  the  decisions  of  ;  '1  could  a  tale  unfold  whose 
lightest  word',  &c.,  could  not  be  conveniently  changed  into 
'that -of. 

The  form  'whereof  is  only  one  of  a  class  of  compounds — 
'wherein',  'whereto',  &c. — that  possess  great  convenience  in 
expressing  the  prepositional  constructions  of  the  relative.  They 
correspond  by  preference,  hut  not  exclusively,  to  the  restrictive 
relative  'that'.  '  The  point  wherein  I  erred',  'the  point  that 
1  erred  in  (restrictive).  '  And  be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein 
is  excess  '  (co-ordinating,  'in  which'}. 

Some  grammarians  would  confine  the  use  of  '  whose  '  to  persons, 
but  the  restriction  has  never  been  in  force  ;  there  is  nothing  to 
justify  it. 

7.  Nouns  after  Plural  Possessives.  As  re- 
gards the  possessive  inflexion  generally,  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  an  abstract  noun  following  a  plural  possessive 
should  not  be  made  plural ;  as  '  we  have  changed  our 
mind  ',  '  we  would  lay  down  our  life  ' ;  '  men's  reason 
should  bid  them  regard  their  health '.  The  plural  is 
not  required  in  such  an  expression  as  '  let  not  your 
heart*  be  troubled  '.  (See  Case  of  Nouns,  end.) 

Scotticism  in  the  possessive  case  :  '  To-morrow's  morning ',  for 
*  to-morrow  morning ' ;  '  Sunday's  morning  '. 


INFLEXION  OF  ADJECTIVES. 

I.  Adjectives  are  inflected  to  signify  dif- 
ferences of  degree:  'great,  greater,  greatest '. 
This  is  called  their  Comparison. 

In  many  languages  adjectives  are  inflected  to  mark  the  gender 
of  the  nouns  they  are  joined  to  ;  in  modern  English  no  difference 
is  made  on  this  account.  Nor  does  the  case  or  number  of  the 
noun  affect  the  adjective  in  modern  English.  Our  language  has 
gained  in  simplicity  and  ease  by  discarding  these  adjective 


144  INFLEXION   OF   ADJECTIVES. 

inflexions,  and  has  lost  only  a  certain  power  of  varying  the 
order  of  words.  But  in  the  oldest  English,  the  Adjective  was 
fully  inflected  for  gender,  number,  and  case  ;  indeed,  it  had  also 
a  special  declension  when  preceded  by  a  demonstrative, 

In  the  14th  century,  the  inflexional  endings  of  the  Adjective 
had  dwindled  down  to  -e,  which  often  appears  as  a  separate 
syllable,  after  a  demonstrative,  or  before  a  plural  noun.  Dr. 
Morris  quotes  an  excellent  illustration  from  the  opening  lines  of 
Chaucer's  Prologue  to  the  Canterlury  Tales  : — 

"  Whan  Zepbirus  eek  with  his  twfte  breathe 
Enspired  hath  in  every  holte  and  heethe 
The  tendre  croppcs,  and  the  yonge  somie 
Hath  in  the  Kara  his  halfe  cours  ironne, 
And  sviale  fowle's  maken  melodic." 

In  0.  E.,  adjectives  borrowed  from  Norman-French  sometimes 
took  -es  (or  -s)  in  the  plural  :  '  parties  mcridionales  '  (Maunde- 
ville),  '  the  best  of  all  vertues,  that  cardinales  ben  called  ' 
(Langley),  '  places  dclitables  ',  '  capitalhs  lettres '  (Chaucer) 

In  cases  like  '  motives  ',  '  worthies ',  '  incapables  ',  '  extremes', 

'brilliants',   'contemporaries',   '  greens',  &c.,  the  omission   of 

the  nouns  throws  the  force  of  thes *  upon  the  adjectives,  which 

take  the  noun  inflexion  also,  and  thus  become  to  all  intents  and 

.  purposes  nouns. 

2.  There  are  said  to  be  three  degrees  of  Com- 
parison ;  the  Positive,  the  Comparative,  and 
the  Superlative. 

The  Positive  is  the  Adjective  in  its  simple  or  un- 
inflected  form  :  'great',  'broad',  'high'. 

The  Comparative  is  formed  by  adding  -er  to 
the  Positive:  'greater',  'broader',  'higher'. 

The  Superlative  is  formed  by  adding  -est  to  the 
Positive  :  '  greatest ',  broadest ',  '  highet/'. 

The  comparative  ending  -er  shows  an  -r  replacing  an  earlier 
-s  :  compare  Sanskrit  -jans,  -jas.  The  Superlative  -est  is  formed 
by  adding  -t  to  the  comparative  suffix :  compare  Sansk.  -jans- 
ta,  -istha. 

An  old  comparative  ending  -ter,  -ther  (Sansk.  -tar-,  Greek  and 
Latin  -ter- :  from  the  root  of  Lat.  trans,  through,  '  going 
beyond  or  farther  '),  remains  in  a  few  examples  :  '  after,'  '  other ', 
*  \\he-thcr  ',  '  either  ',  '  neither ',  '  under '. 

An  old  superlative  ending  -ma  is  seen  in  '  former '  (0.  E. 
for-ma,  superlative  of  'fore' :  which  we  have  made  a  compara- 
tive by  adding  -er)  ;  and  also  in  many  words  ending  in  -most : 


USUAL    FORMS    OF    COMPARISON.  145 

'foremost',  '  inmost ',  '  utmost ',  &c.  This  -most  is  the  0.  E. 
•mest  :  ~m-  +  -est,  a  double  superlative  ending  ;  not  the  '  most ' 
prefixed  to  adjectives,  as  '  most  careful '. 

3.  Modifications  in  spelling  take  place  in  cer- 
tain cases. 

(1.)  Adjectives  ending  in  -e  silent  drop  the  -e  before 
-er  and  -est :  'white',  comparative  'whit-er',  superla- 
tive '  whit-e.<tf ' ;  '  remote,  remoter,  remote^ '  •  '  able, 
abler,  ablest '. 

(2.)  When  the  adjective  ends  in  -y  preceded  by  a 
consonant,  the  -y  is  changed  into  -i  :  l  hol-y,  hol-i-er, 
hol-i-est '  •  '  happ-?/,  happ-i-er,  h&pp-i-est ' ;  *  balm-y, 
balm-i-er,  balm-i-es£ '. 

When  a  vowel  precedes  -y,  -er  and  -est  are  added  without 
any  change  :  '  coy,  coy-er,  coy-est '  ;  '  gay,  gay-er,  gay -est '. 

(3.)  A  final  consonant  preceded  by  a  short  accented 
vowel  is  doubled  before  -er  and  -est :  '  red,  red-^-er, 
ied-d-est ' ;  '  sad,  sadder,  sadt?e^ ' ;  '  big,  bigger,  "biggest '. 

Final  -I  preceded  by  an  awaccented  vowel  is  often  doubled  : 
'cruel,  cruel-Z-er,  cruel-Z-otf';  'frightful,  frightful^r,  fright- 
ful/orf '. 

4.  When   a  word  has  more  than  two  syl- 
lables, or  is  a  compound,  the  comparison  usually 
takes  place  by  means  of  the  adverbs  more  and  most; 
'  more   singular,  most  singular ' ;  '  more  fruitful,  most 
fruitful'. 

This  substitute  for  the  regular  inflexion  dates  from  the  13th 
century.  It  has  made  its  way  very  largely  by  being  a  useful 
help  towards  euphony.  When  a  word  has  already  three  syl- 
lables, the  addition  of  the  inflexion  for  degree  makes  it  too 
hard  to  pronounce,  and  painful  to  hear ;  even  though  the  accent 
were  below  the  first  syllable.  So  when  a  word  is  already  a 
compound,  as  '  faith-/wZ ',  there  is  a  similar  objection  to  com- 
pounding it  still  further. 

Even  with  dissyllables  generally,  the  effect  of  adding  -er  and 
•est  may  occasionally  sound  harsh ;   and  therefore  the  second 
method  is  followed,  as  '  more  earnest ',  '  more  prudent '. 
10 


146  INFLEXION    OF   ADJECTIVES. 

Another  reason  for  preferring  more,  and  most  is  that  -er  and 
-cst  are  native  suffixes,  and  best  suited  to  native  words.  Most 
words  of  three  syllables  and  upwards  are  of  classic  origin,  and 
their  inflexion  would  produce  hybrids.  The  old  writers, 
however,  were  not  bound  by  these  considerations.  "We  find,  in 
Sidney,  '  repiningest  '  ;  in  Bacon,  '  ancienter  '  and  '  honour- 
ablest  '  ;  in  Hooker,  not  only  '  learnedest  '  (a  Saxon  word),  but 
'  famousest  ',  '  solenmest  ',  '  virtuousest';  in  Fuller,  '  eloquenter  ', 
'  eminentest  '.  In  our  own  day,  Carlyle  has  many  such  examples. 

Any  adjective  may  be  compared  by  '  more  '  and  '  most  ',  if  the 
ear  is  better  satisfied  with  the  combination  of  sounds  pro- 
duced. '  It  is  most  true  '  ;  'a  more  worthy  course  '.  '  Thus 
doing,  you  shall  be  most  fair,  most  rich,  most  wise,  most  all  ; 
you  shall  dwell  upon  superlatives  '.  (Sidney). 

5.  Certain    comparatives   in  -ior,  derived 
from  the  Latin,  as  'interior',  '  exterior',  'superior', 
'  inferior  ',   '  anterior  ',  '  posterior  ',  '  prior  ',  '  ulterior  ', 
'  senior  ',  'junior  ',  '  major  ',  '  minor  ',  are  not  proper 
and  full  English  Comparatives.   The  ending  -ior 
is  cognate  with  the  English  ending  ;  but  they  are  not 
followed  ~by  '  than  '  in  composition.     We  say  '  senior  to 
—  ',  not  '  senior  than  his  brother  '. 

6.  Irregular  and   Defective  Comparison  ia 

exemplified  in  a  few  instances. 


Better  Best 

Bad    ) 

Evil    }.  Worse  Worst 

111      ) 

Good,  0.  E.  god,  has  neither  comparative  nor  superlative. 
Well  here  is  the  predicate  adjective  (as  in  'Are  you  wellT}; 
also  uninflected.  Better,  Best  (O.  E.  betera,  bet(e)st),  had  lost 
their  positive  (bet  or  bat),  even  in  the  oldest  English  extant. 

Bad  came  in  about  the  13th  century.  Chaucer  sometimes 
uses  '  badder  '.  Evil  (0.  E.  yfel)  and  111  (a  cognate  Scandi- 
navian form)  are  not  inflected.  Worse  (0.  E.  wyrsa]  and 
worst  (0.  E.  wyrrest,  wyrst)  are  formed  from  a  lost  positive 
wear.  The  -s-  in  '  worse  '  is  a  relic  of  the  oldest  form  of  the  -er 
ending  :  contrast  the  Danish  *  veer-re  ',  which  has  long  appeared 
in  Northern  English  (including  Scotch)  as  twarre't  'war' 
(worse), 


IRREGULAR   AND    DEFECTIVE    COMPARISON.          147 

Little  Less  Least. 


I  More  Most. 

Many  J 

Little  (0.  E.  lytel)  supplies  from  a  different  root  (las,  '  infirm  ') 
comp.  less  [0.  E.  fccs-sa  another  relic  of  the  -s  ending),  and 
superl.  least  (0.  E.  /ces-t,  %  e.  Ices-est}.  Lesser,  a  double  corn- 
par.,  is  an  admitted  form:  'the  greater  light  to  rule  the  day, 
and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night'  (Gen,  i.  16)  ;  'the  lesser 
Asia  ',  'the  lesser  grey  centres  of  the  brain  '.  Littlest  occurs 
once  in  Shak.  (Ham.  iii.  2.):  'the  littlest  doubts'.  This, 
however,  is  in  a  special  contrast  where  it  is  desirable  to  show 
the  form  '  little  '. 

Much  (0.  E.  mic-el,  later  micJiel,  miichel,  moche)  is  from  the 
root  ma(g)h  ('grow,  become  great').  More  (O.  E.  mara  = 
mah-ra)  is  used  as  the  comp.  of  both  '  much  '  and  '  many  '.  Mo, 
m-oe,  a.  shortened  form,  is  common  in  the  Elizabethan  age, 
and  is  found  in  Scotch  as  mce  (the  comp.  of  '  many  '). 
Most  is  0.  E.  mcest  (=  mah-st}.  Many  (0.  E.  man  eg) 
"  contains  the  root  mang,  a  nasalized  form  of  mag  (mah)  ". 
(Morris). 


Old 


Elder )  Eldest. 

Older  j  Oldest. 


Old,  0.  E.  cold;  elder,  0.  E.  yldra,  eldra;  eldest,  0.  E. 

yldest,  eldest.  The  modification  of  the  vowel  in  '  yld- '  '  eld-  ' 
is  due  to  the  influence  of  a  lost  -i-  preceding  the  endings. 
(Compare  '  man,  men',  &c.  :  p.  126,  §  3).  So  'lang',  comp. 
'  lengra ',  superl  '  lengest ' ;  '  strang,  strengra,  strongest ' ; 
'geong'  (yoking)  'g?/ngra',  'gyngest',  &c. 

Older  oldest,  formed  directly  from  'old',  are  now  the 
common  inflexions.  The  general  use  of  these  has  gradually 
confined  '  elder ',  '  eldest ',  to  living  beings.  '  Elder '  has  lost 
part  of  the  comparative  use  ;  we  say  '  which  is  the  elder  ? '  but 
we  have  ceased  to  say  '  he  is  elder  than  his  brother  '. 

Nigh  Nigher  Nighest,  Next. 

Near  Nearer  Nearest. 

Far  Farther  Farthest. 

[Forth]        Further 

The  first  couple  'nigh',  'near',  look  regular.  ^But  the 
really  regular  form  would  be  an  apparent  mixture  :  '  nigh,  near, 
next '. 


148  INFLEXION    OF    ADJECTIVES, 

Nigh,  0.  E.  nedh,  neh,  later  neih,  ncgh.  Near,  0.  E. 
nym,  nedrra  was  the  regular  compar.  of  neah ;  it  began  to  be 
used  as  positive  about  the  j  2th  century,  though  it  was  not  quite 
disused  as  compar.  till  the  17th  century.  Next  is  0.  E.  nehst 
(m  neah-st,-nek-st),  Thus  nearer  is  etymologically  a  double 
compar. ,  and  nearest  has  really  the  modern  superl.  added  to 
the  old  compar.  form. 

Far,  O.  E.  feor,  had  0.  E  compar.  fyrra,  and  superl. 
fyrrest.  The  later  form  of  fyrra,  ferre,  took  on  the  common 
ending  flike  nerre,  nerrer,  nearer)  and  became  a  double  compar., 
ferrcr.  Farrer,  farrcst,  remain  in  Scotch  ;  but  farther, 
farthest,  the  English  forms,  have  admitted  -th-  from  'further', 
'  furthest ',  on  a  mistaken  analogy. 

The  adv.  '  forth  '  had  no  adjective  cognate  in  0.  E.  Further 
(0.  E.  furthra),  furthest,  are  regularly  formed.  The  O.  E. 
superl.  was  furth-m.-c.st ;  whence  '  furthermost '.  '  Further- 
more '  is  an  adv,  (used  with  the  force  of  a  conjunction). 

(Rathe  Rather  Rathest.] 

[A,cer  Ere  Erst] 

T   ,  Latter  )  Last. 

Later   /  Latest. 

Rathe  (0.  K  hrad),  'quick',  'early';  rather  (0.  E. 
hrcethra)  ;  and  rathest  (O.  E.  hrathost)— died  out  as  adjectives 
in  the  17th  century  The  adv.  'rather'  (0.  E.  hrathor} 
remains,  but  in  the  metaphorical  sense  of  '  by  preference ', 
'  preferably  ',  which  appeared  as  early  as  the  12th  century. 

The  0.  E.  adv.  cut  ('formerly',  'before')  is  radically  con- 
nected with  the  adv.  i  ('ever',  'always').  It  appears  in 
'  ear-ly ',  for  which  cer,  ere,  is  still  used  in  Scotch  :  as,  '  an 
cer  crap '  (an  early  crop),  and,  adverbially,  '  to  work  late  and 
asr'.  Ere  is  O.  E.  cerra  ('former'),  and  erst  is  0.  E.  cerest, ; 
but  the  adjective  use  of  the  words  is  now  obsolete. 

Late  (0.  E.  loet,  '  sl'-w ',  « late ')  ;  latter  (0.  E.  latra,  later 
lattre) ;  last  (0.  E-  latest,  latst :  softened,  like  '  betst '  into 
'best',  in  the  12th  century).  Later,  latest,  are  regular  and 
unmodified. 

[Fore]  lor,  ei   Foremost  (O.E.  fyrmest )     1 

1  Fust          (O.E.  fyr(re)st).  [ 

[(Be)hind]  Hinder  Hindmost      I  ,Q  j 

LV     '         J  Hindermost  )  x 

[Af,    off]  After  Aftermost  (O.E.  ce/te(r}mcst). 

In]  Inner  Inmost, innermost  (O.E.  innemest). 


IRREGULAi     AND    DEFECTIVE    COMPARISON  149 

[Out,  Outer )   Outmost,  outermost  )     (O.E. 

O.E.  ut]  Utter  f  Utmost,  uttermost     /  utemest). 
Mid  Midmost  (O,  E.  medemest). 

[Up,  Upper  )  Upmost,  uppermost]  (O.E.  yfemest, 

O.E.  «/-]  Over    )"0vermost  \ymest). 

High  Higher    Highest,  Highermost 

Low  Lower     Lowest,  Lowermost 

Under     Undermost 

[(Be)neath]  Nether   mtheimost  (O.E.  nithemest.) 

'  Fore '  (adv.  '  before  ')  made  in  0.  E.  a  superl.  adj.  for-ma, 
to  which  there  was  added  later  the  compar.  suffix,  making 
former.  The  addition  of  the  superl.  suffix  -est  made  a  double 
superl.,  0.  E.fyrmest,  our  foremost.  First  (0.  ^.fyr(re)st} 
is  the  regular  superl.  form. 

Many  other  forms  now  obsolete  are  found  in  our  old  writers : 
'  hinderest ',  '  upperest ',  '  overest ',  &c.  We  have  also  some 
others  in  -most :  '  eastinost ', '  westmost ',  '  eudmost ',  '  topmost ', 
'  sternmost ',  &c. 

7.  Double  comparatives  and  superlatives 

are  to  be  avoided ;  as  '  more  surer  punishments', '  woiser 
far ',  '  the  most  boldest ',  '  the  most  unkindest  cut  of  all '. 

We  have  just  seen  not  a  few  cases  of  double  inflexion,  chiefly 
however  in  circumstances  where  the  common  ending  has  been 
added  to  an  older  ending  no  longer  familiar  in  the  required 
sense  :  '  lesser  ',  4  utm-osi ',  &c. 

So  when  a  word  has  of  itself  the  force  of  a  comparative  or 
superlative  it  should  not  be  compared  ;  as  '  the  chiefest  among 
ten  thousand  ',  '  the  extremest  verge  ',  '  a  more  perfect  way '. 
'Such  cases  arise  chiefly  from  the  desire  of  exceptional  emphasis. 

8.  Adjectives  not  compared.— Adjectives  ex- 
pressing meanings  that  do  not  admit  of  change  of  degree 
are  not  compared. 

Such  are  the  pronominal  adjectives  (this,  that,  his,  their, 
&c.),  the  definite  numeral  adjectives  (two,  fourth,  both,  &c.), 
and  many  adjectives  of  quality. 

The  following  are  examples :  '  Almighty ', '  certain ',  ' chief ',  '  circular', 
'  continual ',  •  dead  ',  '  empty ',  '  extreme  ',  '  eternal ',  '  false ',  '  filial ', 
'fluid'  'full',  'golden',  'inexpiable',  'infallible',  'intolerable',  'infinite', 
'  living', '  paternal ',  '  perfect ', '  perpetual ',  '  royal ',  '  supreme ',  '  univer- 
sal ',  '  void '.  Some  are  already  words  expressing  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  the  quality  (Almighty).  Others  have  no  shades  of  meaning  :  a 


150  INFLEXION    OP    ADJECTIVES. 

thing  must  be  either  perpendicular  or  not,  dead  or  not  dead  ;  there  are 
no  degrees.  Figuratively,  however,  we  ascribe  degrees  to  some  of  these 
attributes.  "When  we  speak  of  an  assertion  as  '  more  or  less  certain',  we 
do  not  mean  that  oue  assertion  is  '  certain  '  absolutely,  and  that  another 
is  more  so  ;  we  mean  that  the  other  approaches  '  nearer  to  being  certain  ', 
neither  of  the  two  being  absolutely  and  completely  certain.  So  '  more  or 
less  full',  'fluid',  <fcc.  Milton's  description  of  Satan's  despair  is  hyper» 
bolical :  '  And  in  the  lowest  deep,  a  lower  deep '. 

9.  Another  mode  of  expressing  the  super- 
lative degree  is  exemplified  in   'King   of  kings', 
1  Lord  of  lords  ',  '  bravest  of  the  brave  '. 

To  express  comparison  there  is  also  the  peculiar 
idiom  seen  in  the  examples,  'too  evident  to  require 
proof '  j  'too  much  a  man  of  the  world  to  be  imposed 
upon '. 

10.  The  Comparative  is  used  when  two  things 
are  compared;  the  Superlative,  when  more 
than  two  are  compared. 

'  Of  two  such  lessons,  why  forget 
The  nobler  and  the  manlier  one  ? ' 

But  the  rule  is  not  strictly  adhered  to.  Writers  and  speakers 
continually  use  the  superlative  in  comparing  two  things  :  '  the 
best  of  two ',  '  the  least  of  two  '.  '  This  court  had  been  the  most 
magnificent  of  the  two'  (Thackeray).  Less  frequently  the 
comparative  is  used  for  the  superlative  :  '  I  read  the  whole 
of  Tacitus,  Juvenal,  and  Quintilian.  The  latter  ...  is 
seldom  sufficiently  appreciated'  (J.  S.  .Mill).  'The  former 
seemed  the  stranger  sensation  of  the  three '  (Cooper).  Like 
many  other  dual  forms  the  comparative  degree  is  superfluous  ; 
and  perspicuity  would  be  equally  served  by  using  the  same  form 
of  comparison  for  two,  as  for  more  than  two. 

11.  The  Comparative  and  Superlative  are  sometimes 
used  by  way  of  eminence ;  as  'the  most  High  ',  '  the 
ruder  and  more  barren  parts  of  the  island '. 

In  expressing  mere  intensity,  the  adverbs  '  more  '  and  'most' 
are  made  use  of  instead  of  'very',  'greatly',  &c.  'His 
argument  was  most  (very)  convincing.'  There  is  in  such  cases 
no  express  comparison,  and  hence  the  name,  the  superlative  of 
eminence. 


151 


INFLEXION  OF  ADVERBS. 

1.  The  only  inflexion  of  Adverbs  is  Com- 
parison.    Some,  from  the  nature  of  their  meaning, 
cannot  be  compared,  as  '  now  ', '  then ', '  there ', '  never', 
'  secondly ',     *  infinitely '.      When     the     signification 
admits  of   degree,  they  are  compared  in   the  Same 
manner  as  Adjectives:   'soon,  sooner,  soonest'; 
'  often ',  *  of tener ',  '  oHenest ' ;  '  pleasantly,  more  plea- 
santly, most  pleasantly '. 

Adverbs  are  usually  longer  than  the  corresponding  adjectives, 
and  therefore  more  rarely  admit  of  comparison  by  -er  and 
-est.  Such  cases  as  «  latelier ',  '  gentlier '  (Tennyson), 
'proudlier'  (Carlyle),  are  exceptions,  allowed  by  euphony.  In 
the  old  writers,  such  terms  were  more  common  :  *  wiselier ', 
'easilier',  '  rightlier ',  'hardliest',  'earliest',  are  instances, 
but  not  for  imitation.  Coleridge  uses  '  safeliest '. 

2.  A  few  Adverbs  coincide  with  irregular 
Adjectives:     'well,    better,    best';    'badly   or    ill, 
worse,  worst ' ;  *  much,  more,  most ',  &c. 


INFLEXION  OF  VERBS. 

1.  Relations  to   be  expressed. — The  Verb  is 
the  Part  of  Speech  that  makes  an  affirmation  ;  and  in 
making  an  affirmation  we  may  Jiave  reference  to  such 
circumstances    as    time,    conditionally    or    uncondi- 
tionally, person,  and  number. 

Methods  exist  in  every  language  for  expressing  these  numerous 
relations.  In  some  languages,  as  the  Greek,  the  verb  itswlf  is 
changed  or  inflected  for  nearly  every  variety  of  time,  person, 
number,  &c.  In  English  the  actual  inflexions  are  few  ;  but  by 
: means  of  auxiliary  words  we  can  express  all  the  various 
circumstances  of  affirmation. 

2.  The  commonly  enumerated    inflexions 
of  the  Verb  are  Voice,  Mood,  Tense,  Person,  Number. 


152  INFLEXION    OF   VERBS. 

3.  "With  reference  to  Voice,  Verbs  are  Active  OP 

Passive.  Every  Transitive  Verb  has  an  active  form, 
or  voice,  and  a  passive  form,  or  voice.  'Csesar 
defeated  Pompey '  (active) ;  *  Pompey  was  defeated 
by  Csesar'  (passive). 

Since  the  object  of  the  transitive  verb  becomes  the  subject  of 
the  affirmation  in  the  passive  voice,  where  there  is  no  object  (as 
in  intransitive  verbs)  there  can  be  no  change  of  voice.  'His 
ardour  cooled '  is  intransitive,  and  admits  no  such  variation  as 
occurs  in  the  sentence,  '  he  struck  the  ball ',  '  the  ball  was 
struck '. 

The  passive  voice  expresses  the  same  fact  as  the 
active,  but  in  a  form  that  calls  attention  to  the  object 
of  the  action,  rather  than  to  the  agent. 

Indeed,  the  agent  may  be  unknown,  and  therefore  there 
would  be  a  blank  in  the  affirmation  if  we  had  not  the  passive 
form.  '  The  glass  was  broken  ',  is  a  complete  assertion,  although 
we  may  not  be  able  to  name  the  agent,  or  consider  it  unimpor- 
tant to  do  so. 

The  English  has  no  real  inflexion  for  the  Passive  Yoice.  The 
single  word  '  hight'  ('  is  or  was  called  '),  0.  E.  hatte,  heht>  is  a 
very  doubtful  example.  We  require  to  take  in  the  help  of 
another  verb  (  §  14  ).  Where  a  passive  inflexion  exists  in 
languages  nearly  allied  to  the  English,  it  seems  to  have  arisen 
from  a  mode  of  applying  a  reflexive  pronoun.  Old  Norse  at 
kalla,  '  to  call ',  at  kallast  (for  at  kallask,  =  at  kalla-sik,  '  to 
call-(one)self '),  'to  be  called'.  Danish  at  kalde  shows  a  still 
further  worn  passive,  at  kaldes,  '  to  be  called  '.  So  the  Greek 
passive  forms  were  at  first  adopted  from  the  middle  voice 
(reflexive).  The  Latin  passive  is  most  probably  a  reflexive 
formation  :  'amor'  ('I  am  loved')  =•  amos  ~=z  amo  -f-  se  ('I 
love  self)  ;  '  amaris  '  ('  thou  art  loved ')  =  amas-i-s  =  amas  -f- 
se  ('thou  lovest  self);  'amatur'  ('he  is  loved ')  =  amat-u-se 
=  amat  -\-  se  ('he  loves  self),  &c.  Compare  French  se  ineler, 
*  to  be  mingled  ',  s'appd&r ,  '  to  be  called  ',  &c. 

4.  The    Moods  are   the   Indicative,  Subjunctive, 
Imperative,  and  Infinitive.     Under  the  same  head  we 
may  include  the  Participle  and  the  Gerund. 

Mood  means  the  manner  of  the  action. 


VOICE   AND   MOOD.  153 

Indicative  and  Subjunctive. — One  important 
distinction  of  manner  is  the  distinction  of  uncondi- 
tional and  conditional. 

'  I  see  the  signal ',  is  unconditional ;  '  if  I  see  the  signal ',  is 
the  same  fact  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  condition.  The  one 
form  is  said  to  be  in  the  Indicative  mood,  the  inood  that  simply 
states  or  indicates  the  action  ;  the  other  form  is  in  the  Subjunc- 
tive, conditional,  or  conjunctive  mood.  There  is  sometimes  a 
slight  variation  made  in  English,  to  show  that  an  affirmation  is 
made  as  a  condition.  The  mood  is  called  '  subjunctive ', 
because  the  affirmation  is  subjoined  to  another  affirmation  :  '  if 
I  see  the  signal,  I  will  call  out'. 

Such  forms  as '  I  may  see ', '  I  can  see ',  have  sometimes  been  considered 
as  a  variety  of  mood,  to  which  the  name  '  Potential '  is  given.  But  this 
cannot  properly  be  maintained.  There  is  no  trace  of  any  inflexion, 
corresponding  to  this  meaning,  as  we  find  with  the  subjunctive.  More- 
over, such  a  mood  would  have  itself  to  be  subdivided  into  indicative  and 
subjunctive  forms  :  '  I  may  go  ',  '  if  I  may  go '.  And  farther,  we  might 
proceed  to  constitute  other  moods  on  the  same  analogy,  as.  for  example, 
an  obligatory  mood — '  I  must  go ',  or  '  I  ought  to  go ' ;  a  inoo-1  of  resolu- 
tion— '  I  will  go,  you  shall  go  '  ;  a  mood  of  gratification — '  I  am  delighted 
to  go ' ;  of  deprecation—'  I  am  grieved  to  go*.  The  only  difference  in  tho 
two  last  instances  is  the  use  of  the  sign  of  the  infinitive  '  to ',  which  does 
not  occur  after  '  may ',  '  can '  '  must ',  '  ought ',  <fcc.  ;  but  that  is  not  an 
essential  difference.  Some  grammarians  consider  the  form  '  I  do  go  ',  a 
separate  mood,  and  term  it  the  emphatic  mood.  But  all  the  above 
objections  apply  to  it  likewise,  as  well  as  many  others. 

The  Imperative  mood  is  the  expression  of  com- 
mand, desire,  entreaty. 

From  the  nature  of  the  meaning,  it  can  be  used  only  in  the 
second  person.  In  modern  English,  there  is  no  inflexion  for 
'it  ;  the  simple  form  of  the  verb  is  employed  :  'bind',  'go  '. 
In  0.  E.  the  Imperative  singular  was  expressed  simply  by  the 
root  form  of  the  verb  :  '  bind ',  '  ga '  ;  there  was  no  mood . 
suffix.  For  the  plural,  the  usual  ending  for  the  second  person 
~th  was  added  :  '  bind-a-^ ',  '  ga-th '.  Yet  when  the  pronoun 
followed,  '  bind-e  ge  '  came  to  take  the  place  of  '  bind-a^A  ge  ', 
probably  through  a  confused  substitution  of  the  subjunctive. 
Thus  the  sing,  and  plur.  forms  easily  became  identical.  As 
late,  however,  as  the  end  of  the  14th  century,  Chaucer  retained 
the  plur.  personal  ending  : 

"  HerkneM  these  blisful  briddes  (birds)  how  they  sing, 
And  set/t  (see)  the  freshe  flowei-es  how  they  spring. 

In  making  a  proposal  or  expressing  a  desire  in  reference  to  first 
or   third   persons,   there  is   no  inflexional  form   available ;   we 
substitute  the  subjunctive  or  an  auxiliary  (commonly  '  let')  :  as 
"  Well,  sit  toe  down. 
And  let  us  hear  Bernardo  speak  of  this  ".  (Ham.  i.  1.) 


154  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

The  term  imperative  is  somewhat  misleading,  as  the  mood  is 
employed  in  supplication  as  well  as  in  command  ;  and  for  the 
strongest  forms  of  command  it  is  insufficient.  The  legislature 
uses  '  shall '  to  signify  its  commands  ;  another  form  used  in 
common  life  is  '  must '. 

5.  The  Infinitive,  as  *  to  go  ',  is  not  a  mood  in  the 
same  sense  as  the  others.  It  is  the  form  of  the  verb 
that  contains  neither  affirmation  nor  command,  but 
merely  names  the  action  in  the  manner  of  a  noun  :  '  to 
reign  is  worth  ambition ',  for  '  the  act  of  reigning '. 

There  is  no  time  signified  by  the  infinitive  as  there  is  by  the 
other  moods.  The  name  '  infinitive '  expresses  the  fact  that  it 
is  not  limited  in  those  circumstances  of  time  that  limit  the  other 
parts,  which  parts  are  called  collectively  the  Finite  verb. 

The  preposition  '  to '  is  not  essential  to  the  infinitive,  and  is 
dropped  after  certain  verbs.  The  0.  E.  infinitive  was  formed 
by  a  suffix  -an  ;  as  *  bin  dam '  ('  to  bind  '),  '  writer '  ('  to  write '). 
It  was  partially  inflected  like  a  noun,  taking  a  dative  in  -e  after 
'  to  '  for  the  expression  of  purpose  :  *  to  bindanne ',  or  *  -enne ' 
'to  writaime'  or  '  -enne ' — our  gerund.  By  the  13th  century 
the  infin.  -an  had  become  weakened  to  -en  and  -e,  and  sometimes 
the  -e  was  silent ;  the  dat.  -anne,  -enne  had  also  fallen  away  to 
-ene,  -en,  -e  ;  and  '  to '  not  only  remained  with  the  dat.  or 
gerund  meaning,  but  was  also  transferred  to  the  simple  infinitive. 
The  two  forms  thus  became  identical,  and  '  to  '  now  appeal's  in 
the  infin.,  whether  it  be  nom.  or  obj.  or  dat. 

The  form  '  "binding  /  '  jzping ',  is  also  an  infinitive  of 
the  verb. 

This  form  in  -ing  fulfils  the  function  of  a  noun  in  ths  same 
manner  as  the  other  :  'going  (subj.)  is  sad',  'he  dreads  going' 
(obj.)  ;  '  binding  (  =  to  bind)  themselves  by  these  terms  was 


force  as  a  verb  by  saying  that  *  themselves  '  is  object  to  it. 

Historically,  the  connexion  between  the  old  infin.  in  -en  and 
the  modern  form  in  -ing  is  not  quite  satisfactorily  established. 
In  the  1 3th  century,  indeed,  the  participial  termination  -ende 
or  -inde  was  occasionally  used  in  place  of  the  dat.  infin.  or 
gerund  form  ;  and  in  the  14th  century  both  forms  were  some- 
times turned  into  -ing.  But  presently  this  -ing  infin.  died  out. 
Again,  an  infin.  -ing  appears  for  -en  about  the  beginning  of  the 
16th  century ;  but  it  is  in  a  different  coristiuction  from  the 


INFINITIVE   AND    PARTICIPLE.  155 

modern  use  of  -ing.  In  the  same  century  even  the  -en  of  past 
participles  was  interchanged  with  -ing.  Some  stress  might 
justly  be  laid  on  the  strong  tendency  to  convert  all  similar 
endings  into  -ing ;  but  most  probably  the  -ing  should  be  traced 
to  the  verbal  noun  in  -ung  (later  -ing),  the  preposition  'of 
having  dropt  away,  leaving  the  verbal  noun  and  the  following 
noun  or  pronoun  in  close  proximity.  According  to  this  view, 
the  real  explanation  of  the  above  example  is  :  binding  (verbal 
noun) ;  [of  prep,  omitted] ;  themselves  (governed,  not  by 
'  binding  ',  but  by  '  of ').  But,  admitting  this  to  be  the  historical 
origin  of  the  -ing  form  in  such  constructions,  the  practical 
usage  has  broken  quite  away  from  it. 

6.  The  Participle  affords  a  peculiar  and  con- 
venient means  of  joining  a  subordinate  fact  to  a  prin- 
cipal affirmation. 

The  name  '  Participle '  was  given  because  of  the  supposed 
participation,  or  sharing,  in  the  functions  of  the  verb,  the 
adjective,  and  the  noun. 

Speaking  correctly,  the  participle  is  neither  an  adjective  nor 
a  noun.  Adjectives  are  derived  from  participles,  and  verbal 
nouns  occur  with  the  form  of  the  participle  in  '  ing',  but  derived 
in  reality  from  other  sources.  The  participle  coincides  with 
the  verb  in  having  a  subject  and  (if  transitive)  an  object,  and 
in  expressing  some  varieties  of  the  action  ;  but  it  has  no  power 
of  independent  affirmation.  In  construction  it  is  subsidiary  to 
a  verb  in  some  of  the  finite  moods  (indicative,  &c.),  and  derives 
its  affirmative  force  from  the  verb  thus  coupled.  '  Ascending 
the  mountain,  we  had  a  wide  prospect.'  This  is  a  convenient 
and  elegant  abbreviation  for  '  we  ascended  the  mountain,  and  had 
&c.'  '  J?  eaten  at  one  point,  we  made  for  another '=  'ice  were 
beaten,  and  made — '.  'I  saw  him  crossing  the  street'  :  'I 
saw  him,  and  when  I  saw  him,  he  was  crossing  the  street ', 

The  Participle  has  two  principal  meanings,  and 
three  forms. 

The  present,  imperfect,  incomplete  participle 
expresses  an  action  as  doing,  and  not  yet  finished ;  and 
the  form  is  in  -ing  (O.E.  -end,  -ende,  -inde)  :  '  \&&ting ', 
'  going ',  '  calk'nt/ '. 

The  past  or  complete  participle  expresses  an 
action  as  done  and  finished  ;  and  the  forms  are  -n  and 
-d  :  '  beateft ',  *  gone ',  '  called  '. 


156  INFLEXION    OF   VERBS. 

In  transitive  verbs  the  participle  in  -ing  has  also  an  active 
signification,  as  '  beating ',  '  calling '  ;  and  those  in  -n  and  -d 
have  a  passive  signification,  as  '  beaten  ',  '  called ',  and  form  the 
basis  of  our  passive  voice.  In  intransitive  verbs,  the  only 
difference  of  meaning  is  that  of  incomplete  and  complete  : 
'  going  ',  '  gone  ' ;  '  coming  ',  '  come  '  (0.  E.  *  cumcn,  comen  '). 

Both  the  present  and  the  past  participles  may  often  be 
regarded  as  indefinite,  the  time  of  the  action  varying  according 
to  the  tense  of  the  verb  of  the  principal  clause. 

The  new  form  -ing  came  in  during  the  12th  century.  The 
older  forms  gave  way  gradually  ;  the  Northern  -and  being  used 
down  till  about  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century. 

The  ending  -n  (or  en,  -e-  being  merely  a  connecting  or  'binding' 
letter)  belongs  to  the  verbs  called  strong  or  old.  It  has  fallen 
off  from  many  of  them  (§  57,  &c.).  It  is  the  same  as  the  -en 
formative  of  adjectives  ('golden',  '  wooderc  '),  denoting  posses- 
sion of  the  properties  implied  in  the  root ;  that  is,  it  expresses 
the  action  of  the  verb  as  communicated  to  the  subject  that  the 
participle  is  joined  to. 

The  ending  -d  (or  -ed,  -e-  being  merely  connective)  belongs  to 
the  verbs  called  weak  or  new.  It  is  sometimes  modified  to  -t  (§  62, 
&c.).  It  is  cognate  with  Goth,  -das,  Lat.  tus  (  —  tos}t  Gr.  -tos  ; 
and  has  the  same  meaning  as  -n.  It  also  appears  similarly  in  a 
vast  number  of  adjectives. 

In  the  absence  of  any  other  prefix,  ge-  was  generally  prefixed 
to  the  past  participle  (and  often  to  other  parts  of  the  verb)  in 
O.E.  This  ge-  was  later  modified  to  y-,  i-  :  '  2/broken  ',  '  ?/gone  ', 
'  imade ',  '  ironne  '  (run). 

In  many  languages  (including  Old  English),  the  participle  is 
inflected  to  agree  with  the  subject  in  gender,  number,  and  case, 
which  gives  it  the  appearance  of  an  adjective.  But  it  is  still 
essentially  a  verb  with  the  limitations  above  stated. 

The  phrase,  '  making  an  unopposed  landing '  contains  participle 
('making'),  adjective  ('unopposed'),  and  noun  ('  landing  '),  all  with  parti- 
cipial form.  So, '  a  person  passing '  (part. ) ,  '  a  passing  thought '  (adjective), 
*  the  passing  of  the  Douro '  (noun).  '  After  satisfying  the  church  '  (part,  or 
infin.) '  a  satisfying  portion  '  (adj.),  '  a  tempest  dropping  fire '  (part.)  ;  '  now 
is  the  witching  time  of  night '  (adj). 

The  participle  is  known  by  its  governing  a  noun  like  a  verb,  which 
neither  an  adjective  nor  a  noun  can  do.  But  a  participial  phrase  (that  is 
a  participle  with  its  government)  may  be  itself  governed  by  a  preposi- 
tion :  '  on  hearing  the  news  ',  '  by  folloicing  the  straight  course  ',  '  after 
warming  himself ',  &c.  These  are  brief  and  elegant  substitutes  for  a  con- 
junction and  a  clause  :  '  when  they  heard  the  news ',  '  if  you  follow  ', 
'  after  he  had  warmed  '.  The  passive  participle  (the  equivalent  of  a  clause 
with  a  passive  verb)  is  known  by  its  reference  to  a  subject :  '  after  being 
well  warmed,  we  went  our  way '.  These  forms  in  -ing  may  also  be  regarded 
as  infinitives. 

A  participial  phrase  seems  to  have  the  farther  peculiarity  of  being 
joined  to  a  possessive :  '  John's  leaving  the  course ',  '  our  mooting  »>e 


PARTICIPLE    AND    GERUND.       TENSE.  157 

party',  '  my  admitting  the  fact',  'the  Icing's  dissolving  parliament ',  are 
short  expressions  for  'the  fact  that  John  left',  'we  met',  "the  king 
dissolved  ',  <fec.  Likewise  a  demonstrative  adjective  may  be  joined  in  the 
same  way :  '  the  sending  them  the  light  of  thy  Holy  Spirit';  '  that  burning 
the  capitol  was  a  wanton  outrage'. 

These  phrases  may  perhaps  be  best  considered  as  infinitives  governing 
nouns. 

7.  The  Gerund  is  not  a  separate  form  in  modern 
English,  but  a  peculiar  application  of  the  two  infinitive 
forms,  *  to  write ',  and  *  writing '. 

In  0.  E.  (see  §  5),  the  dative  form  of  the  Infinitive,  'to 
writanne '  (or  '-enne  ')  was  used  to  express  purpose  or  intention. 
Now  that  the  special  inflexion  is  dropt,  '  to  write '  and  '  for 
writing ',  the  infinite  forms  with  appropriate  prepositions,  give 
the  meaning  intended,  and  are  called  gerunds  :  '  I  come  to 
write  ',  '  I  have  work  to  do  ',  'the  course  to  steer  by  ',  '  ready  for 
sailing ',  '  sharpened  for  cutting '.  It  is  useful  to  point  out  this 
signification  of  these  forms,  partly  to  facilitate  translation  into 
the  classical  languages,  and  partly  to  explain  some  idioms  of 
our  own  language.  '  A  house  to  let ',  '  I  have  work  to  do  ', 
'  there  is  no  more  to  say  ',  are  phrases  where  the  verb  is  not  in 
the  common  infinitive,  but  in  the  form  of  the  gerund.  *  He  is 
the  man  to  do  it,  or  for  doing  it'  When  the  '  to  '  ceased  in  the 
12th  century  to  be  a  distinctive  mark  of  the  dat.  in  fin.  or 
gerund,  '  for '  was  introduced  to  make  the  writer's  intention 
clear.  Hence  the  familiar  form  in  '  what  went  ye  out  for  to 
see  ? '  '  they  came  for  to  show  him  the  temple  '. 

8.  Tense  is  the  variation  of  the  verb  to  express 
the  time  of  an  action,  modified  by  the  other  circum- 
stances  of    completeness   and    incompleteness    above 
mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  participle.    *  I  come ' 
(present),  1 1  came  '  (past) ;  '  I  call '  (pres.),  f  I  called ' 
(past). 

These  are  the  only  tenses  made  by  inflexion ;  but  by  com- 
bination with  other  words,  future  time  is  also  expressed, — '  I 
shall  come  ',  '  he  will  come  '.  In  0.  E.  the  want  of  a  future 
form  was  usually  supplied  by  the  present  tense.  (Compare 
§  49).  These  compound  forms,  and  a  great  variety  of  modes  of 
past,  present,  and  future,  are  represented  in  the  full  scheme  of 
the  verb  (§  40). 

Strong  Verbs  are  such  as  form  the  past  tense,  by 
change  of  the  root  vowel :  '  hold,  held ' ;  '  fall, 
fell ' ;  « drink,  drank ';  *  come,  came  '. 


158  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 

As  in  all  the  other  Indo-European  languages,  so  in  English, 
even  the  present  tense  is  a  form  considerably  modified  from  the 
original  root.  The  chief  means  of  change  in  English  have  been 
vowel  augmentation  and  the  insertion  of  various  formative  suf- 
fixes before  the  personal  endings  :  the  Northern  English  'gang' 
(Goth,  gagga)  is  a  case  of  reduplication  (from  ga,  '  to  go '),  a 
common  mode  in  the  classical  languages. 

To  form  the  past  tense,  English,  like  the  other  Indo-European 
languages,  and  particularly  like  the  other  Teutonic  languages, 
had  recourse  to  Reduplication.  'Did',  O.  E.  dide,  is  a 
doubling  of  '  do  '.  The  curious  verb  *  hight '  (='  was  called  ': 
in  0.  E.  also  ='w  called)  appears  in  Goth,  haitan  ('to  call'), 
O.E.  hatan  ;  past,  Goth,  hai-hait,  0.  E.  heht,  het  (as  well  as 
hatte).  Goth,  haldan  ('to  hold'),  0.  E.  healdan  ;  past,  Goth. 
haihald,  O.H.  Germ,  hialt  {—heihalt},  mod.  Germ,  hielt,  0.  E. 
heold,  mod.  E.  'held'.  Compare  Gr.  TVTTTW,  pf.  Tt-Tv^a, 
iravu),  pf.  irk-iravKo.  ;  Lat.  pello,  pf.  pepuli ;  tetido  (n 
euphonic),  pf.  te-tendi  ;  tundo  (n  euphonic),  tu-tudi  •  fugio,  pf. 
fugi  (—fu-fugi}  ;  tollo,  pf.  tuli  (for  te-tuli). 

The  strong  verbs  cannot  all  be  traced  clearly  to  their  original 
reduplication  ;  but  judging  from  those  that  we  can  trace,  we 
believe  that  the  rest  followed  the  same  rule.  They  have  also 
been  called  'old'  verbs,  because  they  are  the  oldest  in  the 
language. 

Weak  Verbs  are  such  as  form  the  past  tense  by 
adding  -d  to  the  present  or  simple  verb : 
'love,  loved';  'hear,  heard';  'plant,  planted'; 
'  whip,  whipped  or  whiptf ' ;  '  carry,  carried  ' ;  '  lead, 
led  ' ;  '  build,  builded  or  builtf ' ;  '  buy,  bought '. 

The  addition  of  -d  is  accompanied  with  various  modifications 
in  spelling,  like  those  in  the  plural  of  nouns  and  the  compari- 
son of  adjectives.  '  Heard  '  shortens  the  vowel  of  '  hear  ' ; 
'  planted '  inserts  a  binding  or  connective  -e-,  otherwise  it  could 
not  be  pronounced;  'whipped'  (final  -p  doubled  after  short 
accented  vowel),  and  '  whiptf '  are  both  written,  but  in  either 
case  we  must  pronounce  '  whipt  ' ;  '  carried  '  changes  -y  (final 
•y  after  a  consonant)  into  -i,  before  the  connecting  -e-  and  the 
inflexional  -d.  '  Led  '  looks  like  a  strong  past ;  but  this  is  a 
form  stripped'  of  its  earlier  ending  :  '  \ed-de ',  '  Ised-de '  :  the 
vowel  is  also  shortened.  '  Build ',  and  some  others  ending  in  -d 
preceded  by  a  liquid,  modify  the  final  -d  into  -t ;  a  shorter 
mode  than  the  regular  formation.  The  change  of  vowel  in  such 
as  '  bought '  from  '  buy  '  is  due,  not  to  reduplication  (like  the 
strong  verbs),  but  to  the  influence  of  certain  vowels  in  ancient 
forms  of  the  words. 


STRONG  AND  WEAK  VERBS.      PERSON,  NUMBER.      159 

The  -d  of  the  past  tense  is  a  modification  of  the  verb  '  did  '  : 
'  I  loved '  being  a  short  form  for  '  I  love-did  '  •  *  I  laid  'for  'I 
lay-did '.  This  appears  best  in  the  Gothia  forms,  especially 
the  plural  ones,  which  are  least  corrupted  or  worn  down.  The 
root  lag  ('  lay  ')  formed  its  past  tense  in  Gothic  thus  : 


SINGULAR. 


1.  lag-i-c?-a(=  older  lagi-e?ec?-am). 

2.  lag-i-des  (=  older  lagi-cfcd-ta  ?) 

3.  lag-i-d-a. 


PLURAL. 


lag-i-ded-um. 


lag-i-ded-mi. 


We  have  already  noted  that  the  -e-  (Goth,  and  O.H.G.  -i-),  is 
simply  a  connecting  link,  in  O.E.  (as  well  as  in  Goth,  and 
O.H.G.)  some  verbs  took  -o-  as  the  binding  letter.  Goth,  -ai-, 
O.H.G.  -e'-,  have  no  extant  cognate  form  in  English. 

The  weak  verbs  take  their  name  from  their  inability  to  form 
a  past  tense  without  the  aid  of  another  verb,  *  did  ' :  the  strong 
verbs  double  themselves,  and  need  no  foreign  help.  They  are 
called  also  new  verbs,  the  formation  being  more  recent  than  the 
other.  They  greatly  outnumber  the  very  small. force  of  strong 
verbs  ;  and  hence  the  latter  have  been  called  irregular,  being 
apparent  exceptions  to  the  modern  rule  of  forming  in  -d.  The 
overpowering  inlluence  of  the  commoner  weak  form  has  been 
gradually  breaking  down  the  older  strong  form. 

9.  Person  and  Number.  There  are  certain  dis- 
tinctions of  form  according  as  the  subject  of  the  verb 
is  the  speaker,  the  person  or  persons  spoken  to,  or  the 
persons  or  things  spoken  about ;  that  is,  for  the  1st,  2nd, 
and  3rd  persons,  singular  and  plural ;  as  *  I  write ', 
*  thou  writes^ ',  *  he  writes/  &c. 

The  personal  suffixes  were  originally  pronominal  elements 
joined  on  to  the  verb  (after  the  tense  formative).  They  have 
almost  disappeared  from  modern  English. 

The  suffix  of  the  lirst  person  singular,  -m,  remains  in  the. 
word  '  aw  '  alone  (O.E.  eo-m).  It  was  previously  -mi  (weakened 
from  an  earlier  -ma)  =  *  I '.  Compare  Sanskrit  as-mi,  Gr.  «i'/u 
(for  l.<j-n'i),  Lat.  sum  (for  es-u-m),  O.H.G.  pirn  (mod.  Germ. 
bin],  O.E.  (Northern)  beom  (' 1  be').  In  O.E.  '  binde",  &c., 
the  -e-  is  merely  the  connecting  letter,  which  has  usurped  the 
place  of  the  real  personal  ending. 

The  suffix  of  the  second  person  singular,  -si,  appears  in  the 
present  and  past  indicative.  The  root  twa,  tva,  in,  (=  'thou') 
seems  to  have  changed  into  -ti,  and  then  into  -.%,  which  gives 
the  ending  -s,  common  in  O.E.,  regular  in  Northern  English 
('  thou  bears ',  '  thou  binds ').  The  -t  form  remains  in  '  ar-£ ', 


160  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 

'  was-t ',  *  wer-£ ',  '  shal-£ ',  '  wil-£ '.  The  past  tense  of  strong 
verbs  dropt  ~t  of  the  2nd  person  singular,  and  showed  no  ending 
ID  at  -e  :  'thit  bunde'  ('thou  boundest '),  '  thu  feolle '  ('thou 
fellest')  ;  but  in  the  14th  century  the  weak  ending  -st  was 
shared  with  them.  The  peculiarities  of  spelling  when  -st  is 
added  are  the  same  as  when  -d  of  the  past  tense  is  added. 

The  suffix  of  the  third  person  singular,  -th,  -S,  is  descended 
from  the  demonstrative  root,  ta  ('he'),  seen  in  'the',  'that'. 
The  modified  form  -ti  became  in  the  oldest  English  -th,  -d,  and 
-t,  and  even  in  the  10th  century  -s,  which  is  now  the  ordinary 
form.  It  appears  only  in  the  present  indie.  The  same  peculi- 
arities of  spelling  attend  the  addition  of  -s  as  of  -st  and  -d. 

The  suffixes  of  the  plural  have  all  been  dropt  in  modern 
English.  The  forms  in  O.E.  and  cognate  languages  have  been 
traced  back  to  these  :  (1)  masi  =  ma  +  si  (=ti,  ta;  twi,  two) 
=  '  I  +  thou  ',  or  ma  +sa  =  '  I  +he ',  that  is,  '  we  '  ;  (2)  tasi 
=  ta  +  si  =  '  thou  -f  thou  ',  or  ta  +  sa  —  '  thou  +  he  ',  that  is, 
'you';  and  (3)  (a)nti  =  an+ti=  'he  +  he',  that  is,  'they'. 
(But  this  explanation  of  (a)nti  is  not  universally  accepted). 
There  is  no  trace  of  the  suffix  of  the  first  person  plural  in 
English.  Goth,  has  '  siyu-m  '  ('we  are')  :  compare  Gr.  iff-pev 
(Doric  il-n'ts  —  la-fjLtQ),  Lat. ' su-?raws '  (es-u-mus).  The  suffix  of  the 
second  person  plural,  -th.,  was  extended  in  O.E.  to  all  the  plural 
persons  of  the  present  indicative  :  '  bind-a-^  '  ('  we,  you,  they 
bind'),  'Iser-a-^A'  ('we,  you,  they  teach ').  We  have  already 
mentioned  the  -th  of  the  Imperative  plural  (§  4).  The  suffix  of 
the  third  person  plural,  -n,  was  extended  in  O.E.  to  all  the 
plural  persons  of  the  past  indicative  ('bund-on',  'herd-on.') 
and  of  the  present  and  past  subjunctive  ('  binder,  -on ',  '  leer-en, 
-on ' ;  '  bund-e'/t,  -on  ',  '  Iserd-c??.,  -on  ').  In  the  12th  century,  Mid- 
land English  used  -n  for  the  plural  endings  of  the  present 
indicative,  while  Southern  English  retained  -th ;  Northern 
English  had  taken  -s,  several  centuries  earlier,  in  the  plural 
persons  of  the  present  indicative  and  in  the  plural  imperative. 
The  forms  in  -en  died  out  of  general  use  in  the  16th  century. 
The  loss  of  this  short  syllable  has  been  regretted  by  poets. 

The  suffix  of  the  O.E.  singular  subjunctive,  present  and  past, 
was  -e,  a  mere  remnant  of  fuller  forms.  Even  this  is  now  lost. 
In  loose  writing,  the  forms  of  the  second  and  third  persons 
singular  of  the  present  indicative  are  often  used  where  we 
should  expect  the  flexionless  subjunctive  ;  and  Mr.  H.  Sweet 
has  pointed  out  instances  of  a  similar  usage  in  the  second  person 
singular  past  subjunctive  of  weak  verbs  in  late  West  Saxon. 
For  '  wert ',  see  §  15,  below. 

For  general  purposes,  all  the  inflexions  of  number  and  person 
might  have  been  dispensed  with  together. 


CONJUGATION,  STRONG  AND  WEAK.       161 

10.  The  English  Verb  retains  but  a  very  small 
number  of   inflexions  compared  with   other  lan- 
guages. 

'  Write  ',  '  wrote  ',  '  writing  ',  '  written  ',  '  writes  ',  *  writest  ', 
'  wrotest  '—  being  seven  forms,  —  are  all  the  changes  of  a  strong 
verb.  The  weak  verbs,  such  is  '  love  ',  have  oiily  six  forms. 

11.  Conjugation.     To  bring  together  all  the  forms 
of  the  verb  is  to  conjugate  it.     There  are  in  English 
two  conjugations  :  the  Old  or  Strong,  and  the 
New  or  Weak. 

The  Old  or  Strong  Conjugation  applies  to  or  includes  solely 
the  old,  strong,  or  so-called  Irregular  verbs.  They  are  very  few 
in  number,  and  they  are  all  of  native  origin.  The  new  or 
Weak  Conjugation  applies  to  or  includes  all  other  verb?,  —  an 
indefinitely  more  numerous  class.  In  0.  E.  there  were  various 
conjugations  both  of  strong  and  of  weak  verbs  ;  according  to 
the  change  of  vowel  in  the  strong,  and  according  to  the 
connecting  vowel  in  the  weak.  We  do  not  enter  into  this 
subdivision  and  classification  here. 

Ordinarily,  to  conjugate  a  verb  means  simply  to  give  the  pre- 
sent and  past  indicative  (first  person  singular)  and  the  past 
participle.  From  these  three  forms  all  the  others  are  easily 
derived.  Thus  : 

(1)  Fall  (pres.)     (2)  Fell  (past)     (3)  Fallen  (p.  part.) 


,    (4) 

'     (5)  Fall-* 
(6)  Fall-wg'. 

12.  The  Conjugation  of  the  Strong  or  Old 
Verbs  is  seen  in  the  following  example  : 

To  Write. 

Present  Tense.  Past  Tense.  Past  Participle. 

Write.  Wrote.  Written. 


INDICATIVE   MOOD. 

Present  Tense. 


Sing  1st  Person,  (I)  write 


(Thou)  writest 


(He)  writes. 


11 


Plur.  1st  Person,  (We)  write 
2nd  ,,  (You)  write 
Srd  „  (They)  write. 


162  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 


fast  Tense. 


Sing.  1.  (I)  wrote 

2.  (Thou)  Avrotest 

3.  (He)  wrote. 


Plur.  1.  (We)  wrote 

2.  (You)  wrote 

3.  (They)  wrote. 


IMPERATIVE  :  Write.  INFINITIVE  :  (To)  write  ;  writing. 

PARTICIPLES. 

Present,  Writing.  Past,  Written. 

13.  The  Conjugation  of  the  Weak  or  New 
Verbs  is  seen  in  the  following  example  ; 

To  Love. 

Present  Tense.  Past  Tense.  Past  Participle. 

Love.  Loved.  Loved. 

INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

Present  Tense. 


Sing.  1st  Person,  (I)  love 

2nd    ,,       (Thou)  lovest 


3rd    „       (He)  loves. 


Plur.  1st  Person,  (We)  love 
2nd  „  (You)  love 
3rd  „  (They)  love. 


Past  Tense. 


Sing.  1.  (I)  loved 

2.  (Thou)  lovedst 

3.  (He)  loved. 


Plur.  1.  (We)  loved 

2.  (You)  loved 

3.  (They)  loved. 


IMPERATIVE  :  Love.  INFINITIVE  :  (To)  love  ;  loving.. 

PAKTICIPLES. 

Present,  Loving.  Past,  Loved. 

The  Auxiliary  Verbs. 

14.  The  Auxiliary  Verbs  are  joined  to  the  other 
verbs  to  assist  in  expressing  the  tenses  not 
expressed  by  Inflexions.  They  are:  'be',  'have', 
*  shall ',  and  «  will '. 

*  May  '  and  '  can  '  would  be  ranked  as  auxiliaries  if  we  were 
to  admit  the  potential  mood  into  the  conjugation  of  the  verb. 
'  Do  '  is  excluded  as  the  help  in  making  the  emphatic  form  of 
the  verb  :  it  has  a  very  much  better  claim  to  be  regarded  as  an 
auxiliary  in  expressing  negation,  and  in  the  inverted  forms. 
These  are  all  verbs  of  importance  in  the  language. 


THE    AUXILIARIES.       'BE*.  163 

15.  To  Be.  A  complete  conjugation  is  pieced  out 
by  gathering  forms  from  three  distinct  roots  :  as, 
was,  and  bhu  (bu). 

Present  Tense.  Past  Tense.  Past  Participle. 

Am.  Was.  Been. 


INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

Present  Tense. 


.  1.  Am 

2.  Art 

3.  Is. 


Sing.  1.  Was 


Plur.  1.  Are 

2.  Are 

3.  Are. 


Past  Tense. 


2.  Wast,  (wert) 

3.  Was. 


Plur.  1.  Were 

2.  Were 

3.  Were, 


SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD. 

Present  Tense. 


.  1.  Be 

2.  Be 

3.  Be. 


Sing.  1.  Were 


Plur.  1.  Be 

2.  Be 

3.  Be. 


Past   Tense. 


2.  Were,  wert 

3.  Were. 


Plur.  1.  Were 

2.  Were 

3.  Were. 


IMPERATIVE  :  Be.  INFINITIVE  :  (To)  be  ;  being. 

PARTICIPLES. 

Present,  Being.  Past,  Been. 

Remains  of  root  as. — 'Am  '  is  forar-w,  for  as-m  (§  9). — '  Art' 
is  for  as-t  (§  9). — '  Is '  was  all  that  remained  in  the  oldest 
English  for  as-th  (compare  Goth,  and  Germ,  is-t,  Gr.  la-ri, 
Lat.  es-t,  &c. ).  '  Are ',  0.  E.  (Northern)  ar-on  =  as-on,  from 
the  full  original  form  as -anti.  Sanskrit  has  cut  off  the  first 
part,  making  santi ;  Lat.  &unt'.  Southern  English,  sind,  sindon. 
The  present  subjunctive  and  imperative  forms  from  the  same 
root  have  long  been  superseded  in  English. 

Remains  of  root  was.  The  w;as-forms  ran  through  the  whole 
verb  (except  present  indie.)  in  O.E.,  but  they  are  now  confined 
to  the  past  indicative  and  subjunctive.  'Was',  O.E.  wees, 
is  the  regular  past  of  the  old  verb,  wesan  ('to  be  ',  'happen  '). 
'  Wast '  (§  9)  is  a  14th  century  form,  replacing  O.E.  wcere  (for 


164'  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 

wcese),  which  might  have  been  expected  to  remain  'were', 
and  which  has  become  '  wert '  (§  9)  :  curiously  enough,  the 
Gothic  had  '  wast '. — '  Were  '  (indicative)  is  O.E.  wceron,  weren, 
for  an  older  wcesen  :  compare  Gothic  wes-um,  ices-nth,  wcs-un. 
The  subjunctive  '  were '  has  similarly  lost  all  its  ^  endings. 
'  Wert '  very  strongly  shares  the  general  tendency  of  indicative 
second  persons  singular  to  be  transferred  also  to  the  subjunctive. 

Remains  of  root  bhu  (bll).  From  this  came  our  '  be '  (as 
well  as  Lat.  fit-  in  fui,  &c.).  The  present,  beo(m),  bist,  &c., 
was  used  in  all  the  persons  in  O.E. ;  even  in  the  17th  century 
*  be  '  and  '  beest '  fill  all  the  persons  ;  many  examples  are 
familiar  in  the  Bible.  '  Be  ',  now  flexionless,  has  superseded 
the  other  two  roots  in  the  present  subjunctive  and  the  impera- 
tive ;  and  wesan,  &c.,  gave  way  to  it  in  the  infinitive  and  par- 
ticiples, about  the  12th  century. 

How  '  Be '  helps.— By  joining  the  past  participle  of  a 

transitive   verb   to   the   verb   '  be '   throughout,  we  make  the 

indefinite  form  of  the  passive  voice ;  as  '  he  is  loved ', 

'  we  were  loved ',  '  to  be  loved  ',  '  being  loved '. 

The  participles  make  the  sole  exception  :  '  loved '  gives  the 
meaning  sufficiently  without  '  been ',  and  it  is  also  used  con- 
vertibly  with  '  being  loved '.  In  0.  E.  the  meanings  of  tbese 
forms  were  rather  vague  :  ' is  ofslaegen  '=  '£«  or  has  been  slain  '; 
'  was  ofslaegen '  was  simple  past  tense;,  or  present  perfect,  or  past 
perfect ;  and  much  of  this  vagueness  yet  remains. 

With  the  past  participle  of  an  intransitive  verb,  '  be '  forms 
perfect  tenses :  '  I  am  come  ',  '  the  train  was  just  gone '.  German 
retains  this  construction  in  great  activity  ;  we  employ  '  have ' 
also  with  intransitive  as  well  as  with  transitive  verbs.  In  O.E. 
the  participle  was  inflected  to  agree  with  the.  subject :  '  hi  wceron 
cumene ',  '  they  ivere  (had)  come '. 

By  similarly  joining  the  imperfect  participle,  there  arises 

another  form  of  the  active  voice,  peculiar  to  the  English 
language,  called  the  progressive,  incomplete,  or  imperfect 

form;  as  'I  am  writing ',  'I  was  writing',  &c.  In  O. E.,  this 
form  was  very  little,  if  anything,  more  than  alternative  with 
the  regular  inflexion  :  'ge  siudon  leogende'  ('you  are  lying') 
=  '  ge  leogath '  ('  you  lie  '). 

For  the  progressive  forms  with  '  have  ',  see  §  16. 

In  all  these  applications  of  'be.',  the  old  verb  'weorthan* 
('  to  be ',  '  to  become '),  was  also  used  in  O.E  :  '  his  hors  wearth 
gesiclod  '  ('his  horse  became  sickened  ',  'was  taken  ill ').  Com- 
pare Germ,  werden. 

1  Be '  with  the  gerund  expresses  purpose  or  intention.  '  I  am 
to  write '=  'I  intend  or  purpose  to  write',  'I  am  going  to 
write  ',  '  I  shall  write '.  '  I  was  to  write  '  =  *  I  intended  to 


THE   AUXILIARY    *  HAVE  '. 


165 


write '.  Compare  the  formation  of  Lat.  amabo  =  '  (to)  love 
+  be  I ',  'I  was  to  love  ',  '  1  shall  love  '  ;  bo  being  a  modification 
of  the  root  bhu  ('  be ').  Lat.  amabam  =  '  (to)  love  + be  I ',  'I 
was  to  love ',  '  I  loved. ',  passes  from  the  intention  to  the  fact. 
So  aniavi  —  ama-fui. 


16,  To  Have. 

Present  Tense. 
Have. 


Sing.  1.  Have 

2.  Hast 

3.  Has. 

Sing.  1.  Had 

2.  Hadst 

3.  Had. 


Past  Tense. 
Had. 


Participle. 
Had. 


INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

Present  Tense. 

Plur.  1.  Have 

2.  Have 

3.  Have. 
Tense. 

Plur.  1.  Had 

2.  Had 

3.  Had. 


SUBJUNCTIVE   MOOD. 


Sing.  1.  Have 

2.  Have 

3.  Have. 

Sing.  1.  Had 

2.  Had 

3.  Had. 

IMPERATIVE  :  Have. 


Present  Tense. 

Plur.  1.  Have 

2.  Have 

3.  Have. 
Past  Tense. 

Plur.  1.  Had 

2.  Had 

3.  Had. 

INFINITIVE  :  (To)  have,  having. 


PARTICIPLES. 

Present,  Having.  Past,  Had. 

'Have'  is  a  weak  verb.  O.E.  habban  ('to  have')  declined 
its  present  indie.  :  hcebbe,  hcefst  (hafast),  hccfth  (hafath),  &c.  ; 
past,  hcef-de  (later  hadde)  ;  past  part.,  gchcefd.  hcefed,  later  yhad. 

'  Hadst '  appears  as  subjunctive  :  writers  hesitate  to  commit 
themselves  to  the  bare  form.  '  If  thou  hadst  said  him  nay,  it 
had  been  sin.' 

•  Ifadst  thou  been  killed  when  first  thou  didst  presume, 
Thou  hadst  not  lived  to  kill  a  son  of  mine.' 

3rd  Hm.  VI.  v.  tj. 

HOW  '  Have  '  helps. — '  Have '  is  used  to  make  the,  Perfect 
forms.  Followed  by  the  past  participle  of  another  verb,  '  have ' 


166  INFLEXION    OF   VERBS. 

forms  two  tenses :  '  hove,  loved '  (present  perfect),  '  had 
loved  '  (past  perfect)-  Now,  as  the  participle '  loved'  merely 
expresses  completed  action,  witl  ou  reference  to  time,  and  as 
'  I  have '  means  '  I  possess  '  (at  this  moment),  the  union  of  the 
two  comes  to  express  perfect  action  likewise.  '  1  have  written 
a  letter  '  means  '  1  now  possess  a  written  letter '  ;  whence  it 
follows  that  the  'writing  of  the  letter  is  an  action  finished, 
perfect,  or  complete.  In  O.E.  the  participle  was  inflected  to 
agree  with  the  object,  this  construction  being  primarily  applied 
with  transitive  verbs,  though  afterwards  extended  to  iiitransi- 
tives  (§  15),  when  the  original  formation  was  neglected.  *  Hi 
hfefdon  hint  ofslsegenue ',  '  they  had  him  (a)  slain  (man) ', 
'  they  had  slain  him  '.  But  the  inflexion  began  to  drop  very 
early.  In  0.  E.,  '  have  ',  '  had  ',  were  sometimes  used  to  ex- 
.press  the  simple  past  tense.- 

The  infinitive  followed  by  a  past  participle  forms  a  perfect 
infinitive  active  •  '  to  have  loved  ',  '  having  loved  '. 

The  present  or  imperfect  participle  '  having ',  joined  to  the 
past  participle  of  a  verb,  yields  a  perfect  participle  active  : 
'having  loved  ',  '  having  written  '. 

Have  +  Been. — The  perfect  forms  of  'be',  made  up  by  the 
help  of  '  have  ',  are  also  joined  to  both  present  and  past  parti- 
ciples. Followed  by  a  present  or  imperfect  participle,  '  have, 
had,  having,  &c.,  been  'form  what  have  been  called  continuous 
tenses,  or  tenses  of  continued  action  :  '  1  have  been  writing ', 
'  to  have  been  writing  '.  These  are  simply  progressive  perfect 
tenses  ;  they  stand  to  the  perfect  in  much  the  same  relation  as 
the  so-called  '  progressive  '  stand  in  to  the  'indefinite  '  tenses. 
(§  40). 

The    same  combinations  with  the  past  participle   make  the 

perfect  forms  of  the  passive  :  '  I  have  been  loved ',  '  I  had 

been  loved ',  '  having  been  loved '. 

'  Have  '  followed  by  the  gerund  expresses  obligation  :  '  J  have 
to  write'  =  'I  am  obliged  to  write',  '1  must  write'.  'I  had 
to  write  '  expresses  past  compulsion  or  pressure.  With  this 
combination  compare  the  formation  of  the  French  future  : 
aimer -ai  =  '  to  love  +  have  I '. 

17.  Shall  and  Will. 

Shall. 

Present  Tense. 


Sing.  1.  Shall 

2.  Shalt 

3.  Shall. 


Plur.  1.  Shall 
2.  Shall 
8.  Shall. 


'SHALL'  AND  'WILL'. 


167 


Past  Tense. 
Sing.  1.  Should  Plur.  1.  Should 

2.  Shouldst  2.  Should 

3.  Should.  3.  Should. 

Will. 

Present  Tense. 
Sing.  1.  Will  Plur.  1.  Will 

2.  Wilt  2.  Will 

3.  Will.  3.  Will 

Past  Tense. 

1.  Would  PZw/-.  1.  Would 

2.  Wouldst  2.  Would 

3.  Would.  3.  Would. 

The  negative  won't  is  for  *  wol  not ',  an  old  form.  '  Nil! 7 
(*  will  you,  nill  you  '),  0.  E.  nyllan=.ne  will  (0.  E.  ne  willan) 
='  will  not '. 

18.  Shall   and   Will  are  employed   to   form  the 
future  tenses  in  English:  *  I  shall  go ',  '  be  will  go'. 

In  0.  E.  there  was  no  special  inflexion  for  the  future,  and  the 
present  was  usually  employed  instead.  '  Ga  ge  on  mini  e  win- 
geard,  and  ic  sylle  eow  thaet  riht  bith ',  '  go  into  ray  vineyard, 
and  I  give  {=  shall  give)  you  what  is  right ':  (quoted  by  Sweet). 
4  Shall '  and  *  will '  are  occasionally  used,  but  seldom  as  pure 
future  auxiliaries. 

19.  Shall    originally  means    debt,    obligation. 

Chaucer  says  '  that  faith  I  shall  (1  owe)  to  God  '.  «  He 
shall  suffer ',  is  '  he  owes  to  suffer ',  *  he  is  about  to 
suffer '. 

Grimm  traces  *  shall '  (O.  E.  sccal,  Goth,  skat)  to  the  past 
tense  of  a  present  meaning  '  I  kill '.  Thus  '  I  shall '  is  '  I 
killed  ',  or  '  I  have  killed  ',  and  therefore  '  I  have  to  pay  the 
legal  fine  * ;  hence,  '  I  am  in  debt,  or  under  obligation  \  '  I 
must  *. 

20.  Will,  on  the  other  hand,  means  intention  or 
resolution,    on    the   part    of   the    agent,    he 

being  free  to  do  as  he  pleases  in  the  matter.  '  I  will 
go ',  means  that  it  is  in  my  option  to  go  or  not  to  go, 
and  that  I  decide  for  going. 


168  INFLEXION    OF    VERBS. 

Thus  there  is  a  radical  contrast  of  situation  implied  in  the 
two  words,  namely,  the  difference  between  Icing  w  wafer  out  ward 
control,  coercion,  compulsion,  -influence,  or  pressure  and  being 
free  to  follow  one  b  yvfiL/Mlinfls  and  ifixhis.  'I  shall  not  be 
at  home  '  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  circumstances  compel  me  to 
be  absent  ;  '  I  will  not  be  at  home '  implies  that  neither  any 
other  person's  will"  nor  any  external  compulsion  whatsoever  pre- 
vents me,  but  that  it  is  my  own  free  will  and  pleas-ure  to  be 
absent. 

This  great  opposition  of  meaning  determines  the  appropriate 
employment  of  the  two  words.  The  following  phrases  are 
wrong,  although  in  common  use  by  Scotchmen  and  Irishmen  : 
—  'I  will  be  obliged  to  you  ',  '  I  will  be  under  the  necessity', 
'we  will  be  at  a  loss',  '  we.  will  be  compelled',  'I  io»H  be 
much  gratified '.  As  the  very  nature  of  these  expressions 
supposes  obligation,  or  some  influence  from  without,  the  use  of 
'  will ',  which  expresses  the  absence  of  all  external  pressure,  is 
a  contradiction  ;  we  ought  to  say,  '  I  shall  be  obliged ',  '  I  silmll 
be  under  the  necessity',  '1  shall  be  much  gratified,'  &c. 
4  Shall '  is  not  necessarily  limited  to  compulsion  in  the  painful 
sense :  if  outward  events  (and  not  inward  determinations)  con- 
cur to  impart  benefits  to  an  individual,  the  expression  is  '  shall ': 
'  I  sJiall  be  a  great  gainer ',  4 1  shall  be  delightfully  placed  '. 

21.  Shall  is  the  future  auxiliary  of  the  first  per- 
son ;  will,  of  the  second  and  third  persons. 

Through  the  use  of  '  shall ',  the  bare  fact  of  futurity  is  sig- 
nified by  the  word  expressing  the  compulsion  of  events.  But 
it  was  natural  that  this  application  of  4  shall '  should  come  to  be 
restricted  to  the  lirst  person  ;  *  will ',  the  sign  of  self-determining 
choice,  appearing  to  be  more  proper  for  persons  other  than'  the 
speaker.  Hence  we  say  *  I  shall  come ',  to  make  known  the 
future  coining , of  the  speaker,  but  not,  '  you  shall  come  ',  4  he 
shall  come  '  ;  the  auxiliary  for  these  persons  is  considerately 
changed  to  'you  will  come',  'he  will  come',  when  simple 
futurity  is  meant.  The  conjugation  of  the  future  tense  of  the 
verb  is,  therefore,  as  foliows  : — 

Sing.  1.  SJiall  come  Plur.  1.   Shall  come 

2.  Wilt  come  2.  Will  come 

3.  Will  come.  3.  Will  come. 

22.  The  explanation   of   this   distribution   of   the 
auxiliaries  is  found  in  considerations  of  courtesy  OP 
politeness. 

When  a  person  says  '  I  shall  come  ',  he  uses  a  phrase  which 


USES  OP  ' SHALL'  AND  'WILL*.  169 

originally  means  that  he  is  to  be  under  external  influence  or  com- 
pulsion, and  he  so  far  speaks  humbly  of  himself,  a  thing  quite 
becoming.  But  the  case  is  altered  when,  addressing  a  second 
person,  we  say  '  you  shall  come  ';  this  is  equrl  to  saying,  *  the 
po\yer  of  external  events  will,  leave-  you  no  choice  but  to 
come'.  To  use  this  form  of  language  to  another  person  has 
seemed  want  of  due  courtesy  and  consideration  for  the  feelings 
of  others ;  and  accordingly  we  have  departed  from  it,  and 
adopted  '  will ',  which  is  the  same  as  to  say.  '  your,  or  their,  free 
will  and  pleasure  will  indues  you,  or  them,  to  come'.  This 
has  been  considered  polite  and  deferential,  and  has  become  the 
form  of  futurity  when  persons  other  thar.  '  I  '  or  '  we '  are 
concerned.  Hence  the  correct  usage  id,  '  /  sluill  be  at  the 
gardens,  and  so  iiili  yc*1.  and  James  '.* 

23.  "Whan  the  aim  is  to  express,  not  futurity,  but 
self-determination  on  the  part  of  the  speaker, 

he  says  *  I  will '  for  the  first  person,  and  '  you  shall ', 
1  he  shall ',  for  the  second  and  third. 

Here  the  speaker's  deteimimtion  is  the  controlling  power 
throughout  ;  it  is  !  will '  for  himself,  because  he  is  the  agent, 
but  it  is  '  shall '  for  the  others,  because  they  are  acted  on  by 
him,  that  is,  by  an  influence  external  to  them.  To  say  'will' 
in  their  case,  would  be  not  to  exercise  compulsion*  but  to 
record  their  own  independent  or  free  determination.  Hence 
'  shall'  -is  the  highest  form  of  command  and  authority  :  '  thou 
slialt  not  kill. '.  It  is  the  form  for  imposing  legal  obligations 
and  penalties  in  our  English  Acts  of  Parliament  f.  But,  ;\n 
remarked  above,  not  the  hand  of  power  and  painful  constraint 
simply,  but  also  influence  for  good,  has  to  be  expressed  in  the 
same  way.  '  He  shall  be  blessed  in  all  that  belongs  to  him  ',  is 
a  correct  expiession  if  it  be  implied  that  the  instrumentality  is 
not  his  own  wishing  and  acting,  but  a  controlling  influence 
beyond.  Hence  the  common  rule  that  'shall'  in  the  second 
and  third  persons  commands,  threatens,  and  promises. 

24.  In  what  is  called  indirect  speech,  *  shall ' 
expresses  futur  ity  in  all  the  persons. 

*  In  addressing  the  Deity,  the  very  nature  of  the  subject  excludes  the 
idea  of  constraint  ;  '  thou  giudt  endure,  and  thy  years  nhall  not  change '. 

t  When  a  superior  i8  giving  directions  to  a  subordinate,  he  sometime* 
uses,  as  a  courtesy  form,  '  you  will '  :  '  you  will  sec  that  due  precautions 
are  taken'.  It  is  assumed  that  the  subordinate  is  perfectly  disi/oaeil  to 
do  his  duty,  and  the  language  of  authority  is  softened  do^s•n  t«i  the  form 
of  prediction,  or  futurity.  This  is  another  example  of  the  influence  oft 
considerations  of  courtesy  in  these  constructions. 


170  INFLEXION    OF    VERBS. 

This  apparent  exception  illustrates  the  rule  ;  for  in  thah  case 
the  reason  for  changing  from  '  shall '  to  *  will '  no  longer  exists. 
'  You  say  you  shall  write ',  '  he  says  he  shall  write  ',  are  no 
breach  of  courtesy,  because  the  saying  is  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  person  that  performs  the  action.  These  are  the  exact 
parallels  of  '  I  shall  write  '  ;  the  speaker  speaks  only  for  himself. 
The  following  expressions  are  correct :  '  he  promises  that  his 
part  shall  be  Fulfilled  '  ;  'we  pledge  ourselves  that  our  future 
actions  shall  (not  '  will ')  be  in  accordance  with  our  vows '. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  determination  on  the  part  of  the 
subject  is  expressed,  '  will '  is  used  in  all  the  persons : 

'I  -will  write',  'you  say  you  will  write',  '  he  says  he  will  write'. 

25,  Whenever  the  action  of  external  events 

comes    into  play,  the  speaker,  using  the  first   person, 
must  pass  from  '  will '  to  'shall  '. 

'  If  1  draw  a  catgut,  or  any  other  cord,  to  a  great  length 
.between  my  fingers,  T.  will  make  it  smaller  than  before ' 
(Goldsmith).  The  proper  word  here  is  '  shall ',  because  the 
making  it  smaller  does  not  depend  immediately  upon  the 
speaker's  will,  but  grows  out  of  the  previous  action.  A  similar 
consideration  dictates  the  use  of  '  shall '  when  the  speaker  has 
•once  pledged  himself  to  a  certain  course,  and  is  merely  following 
out  that  pledge.  An  author  states  at  the  outset  the  plan  of  his 
work,  and  as  he  proceeds  with  the  execution,  of  that  plan,  he  says, 
'  I  shall  next  consider'.  The  following  may  be  explained  on 
this  principle  :  'we  shall  now  proceed  to  mention  some  of  the 
most  famous  '  ;  'I  -will  begin  with  a  passage  of  considerable 
beauty  '.  The  first  expression  is  justifiable,  as  being  a  continu- 
;ution  or  following  up  of  the  author's  plan,  to  which  he  had 
committed  himself  ;  the  other  indicates  a  new  start,  and  he 
therefore  reverts  to  the  auxiliary  of  free  will.  '  I  will '  may  be 
softened  into  '  I  shall ',  even  in  cases  of  determination,  to  give 
less  of  the  appearance  of  egotism  :  the  speaker  pretending,  as  it 
were,  that  he  is  the  humble  instrument  of  events  in  what  he  is 
about  to  do;  but  the  substitution  of  '  I  will '  for  'I  shall'  is 
always  an  error. 

26.  In    Interrogative   Sentences,  the  second 
person  takes  the  place  of  the  first ;  but  it  is  only  for 
determination  on  the  part  of  the  person  in- 
terrogated that  the  three  persons  can  be  all  made 
use  of  :  '  will  you  go?'  '  si  tall  /go?'  '  shall  lie  go?' 
The   corresponding  expressions   in  the  case  of  mere 


USES  OF  'SHALL'  AND  'WILL'.  171 

futurity  exist  only  for  two  persons :  '  shall  you  go  ? ' 
1  will  lie  go  1 '  '  will  it  appear  soon  1 ' 

The  meanings  of  the  first  form  are  :  'is  it  your  will  to  go  ' 
(will  you)  ?  '  is  it  your  will  that  /  go '  (shall  1)  ?  '  is  it  your 
will  that  he  go  '  (shall  he)  ?  The  second  person  is  appealed  to  as 
the  source  of  will  and  authority,  and  corresponds  to  the  first 
person  in  affirmatory  speech. 

But  we  cannot,  for  simple  inquiry  as  to  the  future,  reverse 
the  forms  throughout  thus  :  ;  shall  you  go  ? '  '  will  I  go  ? '  '  will 
he  go  ?  '  By  attending  to  the  original  meaning  of  the  auxiliaries 
we  shall  be  able  to  comprehend  tho  force  of  these  several  inter- 
rogatories. 

The  first,  '  shall  you  go  ? '  on  a  strict  interpretation,  may  be 
supposed  to  mean,  '  will  events  permit  or  require  you  to  go  ? ' 
whence  it  seems  the  appropriate  interrogative  for  mere  futurity. 
When  we  are  in  total  ignorance  of  the  determining  circum- 
stances, or  are  unable  to  say  whether  events  or  the  person's  own 
will  are  to  decide  the  point,  we  may  be  expected  to  say  '  shall 
you  ? '  This  form  is  not  objected  to  on  the  ground  of  repre- 
senting the  person  addressed  as  at  the  mercy  of  outward 
circumstances  ;  it  is  a  well  established  English  usage.  The 
form  '  will  you  ? '  is  less  seldom  employed,  although  admissible  ; 
it  seems  to  suppose  that  the  person's  mind  is  not  yet  made  up. 
"We  must  regard  it  as  suitable  to  the  case  where  we  appeal  to 
another  person,  to  state  what  his  determination  is  in  a  case 
depending  on  him.  But  '  shall  you  ? '  is  more  generally 
applicable. 

The  form  :  will  I  ? '  is  an  absurdity,  as  the  speaker  asks  the 
other  party  what  he  himself  alone  can  know,  namely,  his  own 
will  and  determination.  There  is  no  situation  where  this 
expression  is  admissible  ;  unless  we  except  the  peculiar  case 
where  the  speaker  repeats  with  the  first  personal  pronoun  a 
question  as  to  his  own  intentions,  or  answers  it  by  another 
question  similarly  formed.  '  Will  you  be  there  ? '  *  Will  /be 
there  ?  Will  I  be  alive  ?  Certainly. '  '  Will  I  ? '  for  '  Shall  I  ? ' 
is  a  common  Scotticism. 

'  Will  he  ? '  would  naturally  mean  '  is  it  his  will  to  do  so  and 
so  ? '  and  this  is  probably  in  accordance  with  usage.  When  we 
are  in  doubt  as  to  how  a  person  will  act  in  matters  within  his 
own  power,  we  say  '  but  will  he  ? '  When  we  are  inquiring  into 
mere  futurity,  however,  we  must  still  use  the  same  form,  in 
preference  to  '  shall  he  ? '  which  puts  the  case  as  depending 
upon  the  person  addressed.  We  must  say,  '  will  he  be  there  ?' 
'  will  it  be  fine  ? '  '  will  there  be  a  large  assembly  ?'  all  intending 
to  mean  futurity.  We  often  prefer  forms  different  from  either 


172  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

for  the  simple  future  :  'is  he  to  be  there  ? '  '  do  you  expect  him 
there  ? '  '  is  tho  meeting  to  take  place  ? ' 

There  is  a  Scotticism  committed  in  responding  to  the  inter- 
rogative  '  will  you  ? '  It  consists  in  saying  '  I  shall ',  for  '  I 
will '.  '  I  shall '  is  objectionable,  as  indicating,  not  hearty 
goodwill  and  concurrence  to  do  the  thing  required,  but  a  mere 
acquiesence  in  the  compulsion  of  circumstances.  It  is  a  still 
more  vulgar  error  to  say  '  will  that  be  all  you  want  ?'  for  '  is 
that  all  you  want  ? ' 

Further  Examples  of  '  Shall '  and  '  Will  '.—The  distinction 
of  the  two  words  is  illustrated  by  the  supposed  exclamation  of 
an  Irishman  on  falling  into  the  water ;  '  I  will  be  drowned,  and 
nobody  shall  help  me '.  While  intending  to  express  his  appre- 
hensions and  to  invoke  help,  he  in  reality  declares  with 
emphasis  that  it  is  his  determination  to  drown  himself,  and  to 
resist  any  one  that  would  rescue  him.  The  following  passages 
discriminate  the  two  auxiliaries  with  precision  :  *  The  spirit  of 
my  father  grows  strong  in  me,  and  I  will  no  longer  endure  it '. 
.  .  .  '  He  that  escapes  me  without  some  broken  limb  shall 
acquit  him  well  (ironical  promise) '  .  .  .  '  Charles,  I  thank 
thee  for  thy  love  to  me,  which  thou  shalt  find  I  will  most 
kindly  requite.'  .  .  .  'Truly,  when  he  dies,  thou  shalt 
be  his  heir,  for  what  he  hath  taken  away  from  thy  father  per- 
force, I  will  render  thee  again  in  affection ;  by  mine  ho.uour,  I 
will '  (Shaks.,  As  you  like  it,  i.). 

When  Tennyson  makes  (Enone  say  *  I  will  not  die  alone  ',  he 
intimates  that  she  is  determined  that  others  shall  die  with  her. 
'  I  shall  not  die  alone '  means  that  '  the  course  of  fate  will 
overwhelm  other  persons  along  with  me '. 

In  the  Litany, — 'Glory  be  to  the  Father — as  it  was  in  the 
beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be', — the  'shall'  means 
emphatically  that  a  power  has  ordained  this  to  be. 

Lindley  Murray  considers  the  translation  of  the  concluding 
verse  of  the  23rd  Psalm  to  be  incorrectly  rendered.  '  Surely 
goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life,  and 
I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for  evev '  ;  he  would 
make  it  '  will  follow  '  and  '  shall  dwell '.  But  this  is  a  question 
of  meaning.  As  now  rendered,  the  first  clause  is  a  promise, 
'goodness  and  mercy  are  ordained,  to  follow  me  ',  which  is, not 
improbably  the  true  meaning.  The  second  clause  would  imply, 
'  it  is  my  determination  and  preference  to  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord ' ;  but  if  the  meaning  be,  '  I  am  destined  to  have 
bestowed  upon  me  a  dwelling  in  the  house  of  the  Lord ',  the 
suitable  auxiliary  is  '  shall '. 

In  dependent  clauses  the  construction  is  somewhat  compli- 
cated. In  a  sentence  with  two  co-ordinate  parts,  like  the 


USES  OF  'SHALL'  AND  'WILL'.  173 

following,  the  usage  is  plain  :  '  I  will  be  there  at  six  o'clock, 
when  it  will  be  light '  ;  this  means,  '  I  resolve  to  be  there  at 
six,  and  at  that  time  it  will  be  light '.  But  if  the  second  clause 
Ls  a  condition  of  the  first,  the  case  is  altered  :  '  I  will  be  there 
when  it  shall  be  light '  ;  '  when  '  here  stands  for  '  whenever  ', 
and  the  fact  of  its  being  light  is  no  longer  an  assertion  of 
futurity,  but  of  eventuality  ;  in  the  event  of  its  being  light, 
or  when  the  course  of  things  brings  about  that  circumstance. 
In  the  sentence,  '  how  heavy  their  punishment  will  be  who  will 
at  iiny  time  resist',  there  is  a  meaning  distinct  from  what 
would  have  been  given  by  '  who  shall  at  any  time  resist  '.  The 
first  supposes  a  definite,  case  of  resistance  ;  there  are  actual  per- 
sons resolved  upon  resisting,  and  their  punishment  will  be 
heavy.  The  second  is  a  mere  supposition  or  contingency  ;  '  if  it 
should  arise  that  any  persons  are  found  to  resist '.  (Sir  F. 
Head,  on  Shall  and  mil). 

The  following  examples  are  given  in  Connon's  Grammar  as 
incorrect,  but  they  may  all  be  defended :  *  An  extract  from  Mr. 
Hallam  shall  close  the  present  section  and  introduce  the  next. ' 
'  Here,  then,  the  present  introductory  course  of  lectures  shall 
close. '  '  Theocritus,  in  an  epigram,  which  shall  be  cited  in  the 
next  note,  dedicates  myrtles  to  Apollo.'  These  may  all  be 
interpreted  as  promises  or  pledges  on  the  part  of  the  authors  to 
do  a  certain  thing,  and  for  this  the  expression  in  the  third 
person  is  '  shall '.  '  I  hereby  give  assurance  that  the  present 
course  shall  close  ',  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  meaning  of 
'shall'.  'Will'  might  have  been  used  in  those  cases,  and 
then  we  should  have  interpreted  the  speaker  as  expressing  only 
the  mere  fact  of  futurity.  The  following  is  more  questionable": 
'  Now,  in  an  inquiry  into  the  credibility  of  history,  the  first 
question  which  we  will  consider  is '.  Here  '  will '  is  not 
absolutely  wrong,  but  '  shall '  would  have  been  preferable, 
because  the  writer  is  supposed  to  be  committed  by  his  subject 
to  a  certain  course.  This  is  one  of  the  doubtful  situations 
where  either  usage  can  be  justified. 

'  I  will  (my  resolution)  give  them  an  everln sting  name,  that 
shall  (my  controlling  power)  not  to  be  cut  off'.' 

4  Every  place  whereon  the  soles  of  your  feet  shall  (eventuality) 
tread  shall  (promise  of  the  speaker,  who  controls  the  event)  be 
yours. ' 

'  Nay,  but  we  will  (our  resolution)  have  a  king  over  us.' 

'  Accidents  will  happen  '  :  a  personification  of  accidents,  as  if 
they  were  determined  to  happen,  and  consequently  do  happen. 
This  form  has  largely  the  force  of  the  present  indefinite  tense. 

(Additional  illustrations  may  be  found  in  the  Companion  to 
the.  Higher  Grammar,  pp.  179-184.) 


174 


INFLEXION    OF   VERBS. 


27.  Would  and  should  follow  the  rules  of  <  shall' 
and  '  will '  when  employed  in  parallel  circumstances  : 
'  I  should  ',  '  you  would  ',  *  he  would ',  express  con- 
tingent  futurity;    'I   would',    'you   would',    'he 
would',  signify  the  past  or  recorded  determina- 
tion of  the  subject ;  '  I  should  ',  '  you  should  ',  'he 
should',  express  that   the    subject  is  controlled 
by  some  other  power. 

As  a  past  future  is  a  contradiction,  the  form  'I  should'  is 
taken  to  express  a  future  that  is  doubtful,  conditional,  or  merely 
supposed.  If  we  were  discussing  an  arrangement  that  is  as  yet 
undetermined  one  way  or  other,  it  would  be  admissible  to  say 
'  F  should  take  part ',  '  you  would  ',  '  they  would  '.  When 
actually  fixed  and  settled,  the  language  becomes  '  I  shall ',  '  you 
will ',  '  they  will '.  This  mode  of  converting  future  verbs  into 
forms  for  contingency  is  not  uncommon.  The  French  modify 
'  irai '  (I  shall  go)  by  a  slight  addition  into  '  irais'  (I  should  go), 
called  the  conditional  mood. 

The  same  errors  are  committed  with  '  would  '  and  '  should  ' 
as  with  '  shall '  and  '  will  '.  When  one  is  under  influence  from 
without,  '  I  would '  is  improper  ;  it  is  wrong  to  say  '  1  would 
be  surprised ',  '  I  would  be  obliged ',  '  I  would  be  under  the 
necessity  ',  '  I  would  be  delighted  ' ;  in  none  of  these  cases  is  the 
effect  dependent  on  the  speaker's  will.  The  correct  expression 
is,  '  I  should  be  surprised  ',  &c. 

As  regards  determination,  '  would  '  exactly  tallies  with  *  will '. 
It  expresses  past,  or  recorded  determination.  '  I  would  go  '  is  a 
record  of  my  resolution  on  some  past  occasion.  So  '  you  would 
go  ',  '  they  would  go  ',  in  like  manner  record  that '  you '  or  '  they ' 
had  in  a  certain  past  instance  the  resolution  to  go. 

But  when  the  determination  proceeds  from  a  power  external 
to  the  subject,  '  should'  comes  in  as  a  matter  of  course  :  '  I  said 
you.  and  they  should  go  '  =  'it  was  my  will  that  you  were  to  go '. 

28.  When  past  time  is  not  involved,  '  I  would '  is 
contingent    determination;    'I  should'    means 
duty,  obligation,  or  being  under  the  influence 
of  events.     *  I   would   do   it   if  I   were   you ' ;    'I 
should  do  it '  (it  is  my  duty  to  do  it).     So  with  '  you 
should  ',  '  they  should ',  obligation  is  implied. 

29.  The  Future  Subjunctive  is  'I  should', 


USES  OF  'SHOULD'  AND  *  WOULD*.  175 

'  them  should  ',  '  he  should,'  &c.  :  '  if  I,  you,  he,  should 
find  what  you  wish  '. 

In  dependent  statements  there  are  necessarily  two  clauses. 
The  one  states  what  is  conditional,  the  other  states  the  con- 
dition, and  is  introduced  by  one  of  the  conjunctions  of  condi- 
tion, 'if,  'though',  'unless,'  &c.  The  condition  is  in  the 
subjunctive  mood  ;  the  conditioned  statement  is  variously 
expressed.  '  If  he  should  fail,  I  should  have  to  make  it  good,' 
or,  '  I  shall  have  to  make  it  good  ; '  or  'I  will ',  or  '  would, 
make  it  good '. 

The  following  is  an  error  (if  a  mere  assumption  with  regard 
to  the  future  be  intended,  without  any  sense  of  wish  or  desire) : 
'if  I  would  declare  them,  and  speak  of  them,  they  are  more 
than  can  be  numbered  '.  In  the  sentence,  '  if  I  should  declare 
them,  and  speak  of  them,  they  should  be  more  than  I  am  able 
to  express  ',  the  first  is  right,  the  second  is  wrong,  as  being  a 
case  of  mere  contingent  futurity,  without  obligation.  The  sense 
of  'should'  is,  'they  ought  to  be  more  than  I  am  able  to  express'. 

Further  examples  of  '  Would '  and  '  Should '. — '  "Were  he  more 
diligent,  he  would  be  more  successful ',  not  '  should  '.  '  Were 
he  to  do  such,  a  thing  in  England,  he  would  be  hanged  ',  ex- 
presses a  contingent  future  consequence ;  but  '  should  be  hanged ' 
means  that  he  would  deserve  to  be  hanged,  owing  to  some  aggra- 
vation connected  with  the  performance  of  the  act  in  England. 
'  This  man  was  taken  of  the  Jews,  and  should  have  been  killed 
of  them  '  ;  this  conveys  to  our  ears  the  meaning  that  he  ought 
to  have  been  killed.  —  (Harrison). 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  '  should  '  and  'would  '  are,  in  many 
instances,  softened  forms  of  '  shall '  and  '  will '.  '  I  should 
be  very  much  surprised  '  may  refer  to  an  actual  future,  and  is 
an  indirect  and  elliptical  way  of  saying  '  I  shall  be  very  much 
surprised  '.  Both  '  it  should  seem  '  and  'it  would  seem '  are 
modestly  used  for  '  it  seems '.  In  such  a  sentence  as  the  fol- 
lowing also,  '  should '  is  used  as  an  expression  of  diffidence  : — 
'  I  have  so  much  confidence  in  the  sagacity  of  the  Eomans 
within  the  somewhat  narrow  sphere  of  their  thoughts,  that  I 
should  be  cautious  in  criticising  their  military  and  diplomatic 
administration '  ;  that  is,  I  am  disposed  to  be  cautious,  I  prefer 
to  be  cautious.  If  the  writer  had  been  more  confident  and 
dogmatic,  he  would  have  used  an  indicative  form,  '  1  am '  or 
'  shall  be  cautious  '.  In  Shakspeare  we  have  '  What  should  be 
in  that  Csesar  ? '  for  '  what  is  there  ? '  In  other  words,  '  I  should 
be  glad  to  know,  I  wonder  what  there  is  in  that  Ciesar  ? ' 

(For  additional  illustrations,  see  the  Companion  to  the  Higher 
Gh-ammar,  pp.  185-197.) 


176  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

30.  In  Interrogation,  { would  you ? ' 

'should  he?'  inquire  what  is  the  determination  of 
of  the  person  addressed.  l Should  you?'  is  con- 
tingent future  (except  when  for  ' ought  you?');  '  would 
I  \ '  is  wholly  inadmissible.  '  Would  he  ? '  asks  infor- 
mation as  to  the  probable  intentions  of  the 
person  spoken  of:  '  do  you  think  he  would  go  I1 

These  are  in  exact  accordance  with  the  usage  of  '  will '  and 
'  shall '  in  interrogation. 

31.  To  Do. 

Present  Tense.  Past  Tense.  Past  Participle. 

Do.  Did.  Done. 

Present  Tense.— I  do;  thou  doest,  or  dost;  he  does,  doeth, 
or  doth  ;  we,  you,  they  do. 

Past  Tense, — I  did,  thou  didst,  he,  &c.,  did. 
Imperfect  Participle.  — Doing. 

'  Do '  is  a  tense  auxiliary  in  such  cases  as — '  thou  dost 

prefer  (=preferrest)  above  all  temples  the  upright  heart  and 
pure  ',  '  as  if  they  did  rejoice  (=rejoiced)  o'er  a  young  earth- 
quake's birth  ' ;  and  especially  in  inversions  :  '  not  for  those 
.  .  .  do  I  repent  or  change '  ;  '  never  did  any  man  labour 
more  zealously '. 

Thus,  it  is  the  form  of  interrogation  (an  inversion  of  order)  : 
*  do  you  write  ? '  '  Did  ye  not  hear  it  ? ' 

It  is  also  the  negative  form  :  'you  do  not  write';  'I  did 
not  hear  it'.  This  must  be  considered  the  usual  and  proper 
form  of  negation.  ' You  write  not ',  'I  heard  it  not ',  were 
common  formerly,  but  now  occur  only  in  poetry,  and  in  some 
rare  instances  where  they  are  thought  to  be  emphatic.  '  I  know 
not'  should  be  '  I  do  not  know'.  'Some  believed,  and  some 
believed  not',  in  modern  rendering  is — 'Some  believed,  and 
some  did  not  (believe) '. 

Besides  these  uses  as  an  auxiliary  of  tense,  '  do '  makes  the 
emphatic  form  of  the  verb  ;  as  '  I  do  love ',  '  he  did  write '. 
'  Perdition  catch  my  soul,  but  I  do  love  thee. ' 

'  Do  '  has  a  form  peculiar  to  itself;  it  can  be  put  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  other  verbs  (except  '  be ')  :  '  he  speaks  as  well  as 
you  do '  (for  '  speak  ')  :  '  he  spoke  better  than  you  could  have 
done  (spoken) '  ;  'he  loves  not  plays,  as  thou  dost'.  This  cor- 
responds with  the  power  of  the  pronoun  to  act  as  a  substitute 
for  the  noun,  and  we  might  therefore  call  '  do '  the  pro-verb. 


<DO',  'MAY',  'CAN'.  177 

32.  May  and  Can 

May. 

Present  Tense. 
Sing.  1.  May  I       Plur.  I.  May 

2.  May(e)st  2.  May 

3.  May.  |  3.  May. 

Past  Tense. 

Sing.  1.  Might  I       Plur.  1.  Might 

2.  Might(e)st  2.  Might 

3.  Might.  I  3.  Might. 

'May',  O.E.  mceg,  later  mcei.  'Might',  O.E.  meahte,  mihte. 
The  infin.  was  magan  or  mugan,  and  the  meaning  in  O.E.  wai 
'  can  ',  '  be  able  '. 

Can. 

Present  Tense. 

Sing.  1.  Can  I       Plur.  1.  Can 

2.  Canst  2.  Can 

3.  Can.  3.  Can. 

Past  Tense. 
Sing.  1.  Could  I       P/w.  1.  Could 

2.  Couldst  2.  Could 

3.  Could.  I  3.  Could. 

'  Can  '  originally  =  '  know '  ;  hence  '  am  able  '.  The  infin. 
was  '  cunnan '. 

'Could',  O.E.  cuthe  (Goth.  Tcuntha},  couthe,  coude,  has  been 
assimilated  in  spelling  to  '  should  '  and  '  would  ',  by  the  intru- 
sion of  I. 

The  imperfect  participle  remains  in  *  cunning '  ;  literally 
'  knowing '.  The  past  participle  cuth,  lit.  *  known  ',  remains  in 
'uncouth'  (O.E.  uncuth),  originally  ='  unknown ',  hence 
'  strange  ',  *  unshapely  ',  '  awkward  '. 

1  May  '  and  '  Can '  are  the  verbs  .employed  to  make  the  so- 
called  potential  mood.  Their  discrimination  is  important,  as 
errors"  are  sometimes  committed  in  using  them. 

33.  May    now   expresses    permission ;    Can, 
power.     'I  may  go  '  is  '  I  am  permitted  to  go  ' ;  'I 
can  walk ',  '  I  am  physically  able  to  walk ' ;  '  I  can 
solve  that  question  ',  '  I  have  the  ability  or  skill  requi- 
site to  solve  that  question '. 

12 


178  INFLEXION    OF    VERBS. 

This  difference  somewhat  resembles  the  distinction  of  '  shall ' 
and  '  will '.  It  is  the  contrast  between  the  operation  of  a 
power  without  or  above,  and  a  power  inhering  in  the  individual. 
In  giving  or  asking  permission  we  must  use  '  may  '  :  '  you  m^y 
go  ',  '  may  I  come  ? '  The  Scotch  erroneously  use  '  can  '  for  this 
meaning.  In  giving  permission  they  often  say  '  you  can  go '  ; 
and  in  asking  permission,  '  can  I  see  it  ? '  A  porter  at  a  gate,  on 
being  applied  to  for  liberty  to  enter,  will  say  '  I  cannot ',  when 
he  means  that  he  is  forbidden  by  his  instructions,  and  is  not 
free  to  admit  any  one  :  the  real  meaning  of  *  I  cannot '  would 
be,  that  he  is  physically  unable  to  open  the  gate.  *  Can  I  cross 
the  field  ? '  means  '  is  there  a  way  ? '  '  may  I  cross  the  field  ? ' 
is  '  am  I  allowed  to  cross  ?  is  there  a  right  of  way  ? '  'I  cannot 
lift  that  weight ',  '  I  cannot  play  the  flute  ',  *  I  cannot  see  the 
hills ',  all  imply  incapability  on  the  part  of  the  individual. 
'  lie  may  not '  would  mean  that,  though  he  may  have  the  capa- 
bility to  do  these  things,  he  is  forbidden  by  some  authority. 

In  Lord  Chatham's  celebrated  utterance — '  The  Englishman's 
house  is  his  castle  ;  every  wind  may  enter  it,  but  the  king  cannot, 
the  king  dare  not  enter ' — '  cannot '  is  used  for  *  may  not '  by  a 
.figure  of  speech  ;  so  secure  is  the  Englishman  in  this  inviola- 
bility of  his  house,  that  the  king  is  as  it  were  physically  unable 
to  pass  his  threshold. 

34.  May  also  means  possibility  or  conces- 
sion ;  as  '  he  may  come  yet ' ;  '  that  may  be  so,  but  I 
doubt  it ' ;  *  you  may  recover  your  loss  '. 

This  is  merely  a  peculiar  case  of  the  principal  meaning  :  it  is, 
as  it  were,  permission  in  the  midst  of  difficulties. 

In  the  phrase  'Jie  hastens  that  he  may  be  in  time ',  we  have 
an  example  of  another  application  of  the  word,  still  under  the 
original  idea  ;  '  that  it  be  in  his  power — that  he  be  able  to  be  in 
time '. 

35.  Placed   before   its    subject,   may  expresses  a 
wish  :  '  may  you  be  happy  '. 

There  is  here  a  shortening,  or  ellipsis,  of  a  roundabout  ex- 
pression :  '  it  is  my  wish  that  you  may  be  happy,  or  that  you 
le  able  to  be  happy  *. 

36.  Could,  besides  being  the  past  of  '  can '  ('  he 
eould  not  go  yesterday'),  expresses  present  power 
conditionally  ;  '  he  could  go  to-day  if  he  would  '. 

Might  expresses  past  permission  as  reported 


*  COULD',  'MIGHT',  'MUST',  'OUGHT',  'GO'.    179 

in  the  present;  'he  told  me  that  I  might  go'. 
More  rarely  it  expresses  past  permission  simply  : 
'  I  might  not  go  ',  for  '  I  was  not  alloioed  to  go  '. 

37.  Must  is  invariable  for  tense,  number,  person. 
The  O.E.  present  was  mot  ;  past,  moste.     '  Must '  now  stands 

for  present  as  well  as  for  past.     The  inflexions  are  all  gone. 

*  Mot '  meant  'may  ',  'can  ',  *  be  allowed  ',  'have  opportunity'. 
'Not  so  happy  as  mote  happy  be'  (Spenser,  Faery  Queene,  I.  ix.): 
'  mote  '  •='  might ',  or  '  could  '.     '  Must '  now  means  necessity, 
in  various  forms.     (1)  Compulsion  from  without:    'he  must 
work  '.    (2)  Uncontrollable  desire,  amounting  almost  to  physical 
necessity  :   '  he  must  have  society  '.     (3)  Certainty,  or  necessary 
inference,  something  that  we  can  count  on  :    'it  must  be  so  ; 
Plato,  thou  reasonest  well '. 

38.  Ought  signifies  moral  obligation,  duty : 

'  you  ought  to  go '  is  '  it  is  your  duty  to  go '. 

When  past  time  is  to  be  expressed  '  ought '  is  joined  to  a 
perfect  infinitive  :  '  you  ought,  to  have  gone ',  is  '  it  was  your 
duty  to  go '. 

*  Ought ',  though  now  used  as  a  present,  is  really  the  past 
tense  of  the  verb  '  owe  ',  in  its  old  sense  of  '  have  ',   '  possess  '. 
Compare  'that  sweet  sleep  which  thou  oivedst  (=hadst)  yester- 
day '  (Shak.,  Oth.  iii.  3)  ;  'the  disposition  that  I  owe  (=  have, 
possess')   (Shak.,   Macb.    iii.    4.).      Spenser  uses    '  ought '  = 
'  owned  ',  '  possessed  '.     Thus,  '  you  ought  to  go  '  may  be  com- 
pared with  '  you  have  to  go  '. 

'  Owe '  ='to  be  in  debt ',  is  a  regular  weak  verb,  with  past 
tense  and  past  part. ,  'owed '. 

39.  Go. 

Pres.  Tense. — I  go,  thou  goest,  he  goes ;  we,  &c.,  go. 
Past  Tense. — I  went,  thou  wentest,  he,  &c.,  went. 
Past  Participle. — Gone. 

By  employing  the  imperfect  participle  of  this  verb  as  an 
auxiliary,  we  obtain  a  series  of  forms  for  expressing  an  intention 
about  to  be  executed  ;  as  '  I  am  going  to  write  ',  *  I  have  been 
going  to  wrijte  ',  '  I  was  going  to  write  ',  '  I  had  been  going  to . 
write  ',  '  I  shall  be  going  to  write ',  '  I  shall  have  been  going  to 
write,'  &c.  Almost  the  very  same  meaning  is  stated  by 
1  about ' :  '  I  am  about  to  write  '. 


180  INFLEXION    OF   VERBS. 

40.  The  following  is  a  Complete  Scheme  of  the 

Verb  as  made  up  by  means  of  the  various  auxiliaries : — 

Conjugation  of  an  Active  Verb. 

INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

Present. 

Indefinite. — -I  write,  thou  writest,  he  writesj  we,  you,  they — 
write. 

Progressive. — I   am,   thou  art,   he  is,   we,   you,  they  are — 
writing. 

Perfect. — I  have,  thou  hast,  &c. — written. 

Continuous. — I  have,  thou  hast,  &c. — been  writing. 
Past. 

Indefinite.  —  I  wrote,  thou  wrotest,  he,  we,  you,  they — wrote. 

Progressive. — I  was,  thou  wast,  he  was,  we,  you,  they  were — 
writing. 

Perfect. — I  had,  thou  hadst,  &c. — written. 

Continuous. — I  had,  thou  hadst,  &c. — been  writing. 
Future. 

Indefinite. — I  shall,  thou  wilt,  he  will,  we  shall,  you  will, 
they  will — write. 

Progressive. — I  shall,  thou  wilt,  he  will,  we  shall,  you  will, 
they  will— be  writing. 

Perfect. — I  shall,  thou  wilt,  he  will,  &c. — have  written. 

Continuous. — I   shall,   thou   wilt,   he  will,   &c. — have  been 
writing. 

SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD. 

Present. 

Indefinite. — (If)  I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — write. 
Progressive. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they— be  writing. 
Perfect. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — have  written. 
Continuous.— I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — have  been  writing. 

Past. 

Indefinite.— I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they— wrote. 
Progressive. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — were  writing. 
Perfect. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they— had  written. 
Continuous. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they— had  been  writing. 

Future. 

Indefinite. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — should  write. 
Progressive. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — should  be  writing. 
Perfect. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they— should  have  written. 
Continuous. — I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they — should  have  been 
writing. 


ACTIVE   AND   PASSIVE    CONJUGATION.  181 

IMPERATIVE   MOOD. 

Present. 
Write. 

INFINITIVE   MOOD   AND   GERUND. 

Indefinite. — (To)  write  ;  writing. 
Progressive. — (To)  be  writing. 
Perfect.— (Yd)  have  written. 
Continuous. — (To)  have  been  writing. 

PARTICIPLES. 

Indefinite. — "Writing.  Perfect. — Having  written. 

Continuous. — Having  been  writing. 

Conjugation  of  a  Passive  Verb. 

INDICATIVE  MOOD. 

Present. 

Indefinite. — I  am,  thou  art,  he  is,  &c. — loved. 
Progressive. — I  am,  thou  art,  he  is,  &c. — being  loved. 
Perfect. — I  have,  thou  hast,  he  has,  &c. — been  loved. 

Past. 

Indefinite. — I  was,  thou  wast,  he  was,  &c. — loved. 
Progressive. — I  was,  thou  wast,  he  was,  &c. — being  loved. 
Perfect. — I  had,  thou  hadst,  he  had,  &c. — been  loved. 

Future. 

Indefinite. — I  shall,  thou  wilt,  he  will,  we  shall,  &c. — be  loved. 
Perfect. — I  shall,  thou  wilt,  he  will,  &c. — have  been  loved. 

SUBJUNCTIVE   MOOD. 

Present. 

Indefinite. — I,  thou,  he,  &c. — be  loved. 
Perfect. — I,  thou,  he,  &c. — have  been  loved. 

Past. 

Indefinite. — I,  thou,  he,  &c. — were  loved. 
Progressive. — I,  thou,  &c. — were  being  loved. 
Perfect. — I  had,  &c.— been  loved. 

Future. 

Indefinite. — 1,  thou,  &c. — should  be  loved. 
Perfect. — I,  &c. — should  have  been  loved. 


182  INFLEXION   OP   VERBS. 

IMPERATIVE  MOOD. 
Present. 
Be  loved. 

INFINITIVE  MOOD  AND  GERUND. 

Indefinite.— -(To)  be  loved.  Perfect.— (To)  have  been  loved. 

PARTICIPLES. 

Indefinite. — Loved,  or  Being  loved.  Perfect. — Having  been  loved. 

Meanings  of  the  Moods. 

THE  SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD. 

41.  In  Subordinate  Clauses.— In  a  Clause 
expressing  a  condition,  and  introduced  by  a  Con- 
junction of  condition,  the  Verb  is  sometimes,  but 
not  always,  in  the  Subjunctive  Mood  :  'if  I  be 

able  ', '  if  I  were  strong  enough  ',  '  if  thou  should  come '. 

The  subjunctive  inflexions  have  been  wholly  lost.  The  sense 
that  something  is  wanting  appears  to  have  led  many  writers  to 
use  indicative  forms  where  the  subjunctive  might  be  expected. 
The  tendency  appears  strongest  in  the  case  of  '  wert ',  which  is 
now  used  as  indicative  (for  '  wast ')  only  in  poetical  or  elevated 
language. 

The  following  is  the  rule  given  for  the  use  of  the  subjunctive 
mood  : 

42.  When   in   a  Conditional   Clause  it  is 
intended  to  express  Doubt  or  Denial,  use  the 
Subjunctive  Mood.*     *  If  I  were  sure  of  what  you 
tell  me,  I  would  go.' 

When  the  conditional  clause  is  affirmative  and  certain,  the 
verb  is  indicative  :  '  if  that  is  the  case '  (as  you  now  tell  me, 
and  I  believe)  '  I  can  understand  you  '.  This  is  equivalent  to  a 
clause  of  assumption,  or  supposition  :  '  that  being  the  case ', 
'  inasmuch  as  that  is  the  case ',  &c. 

As  futurity  is  by  its  nature  uncertain,  the  subjunctive  is 
extensively  used  for  future  conditionally  :  '  if  it  rain,  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  go  '  ;  '  if  I  be  well '  ;  '  if  he  come  shortly  ' ; 
*  if  thou  return  at  all  in  peace ' ;  '  though  he  slay  me,  yet  will 
I  trust  in  him '.  These  events  are  all  in  the  uncertain  future, 
and  are  put  in  the  subjunctive,  t 

*  Dr.  Angus  on  the  English  Tongue,  art.  527. 

t  In  the  following  passages,  the  indicative  mood  would  be  more  suit- 
able than  the  Bubjunctive:  'If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that 


MEANINGS   OP  THE  SUBJUNCTIVE  MOOD.  183 

A  future  result  or  consequence  is  expressed  by  thel 

subjunctive  in  such  instances  as  these  :  '  I  will  wait  till  he 
return ';  '  no  fear  lest  dinner  cool ' ;  ( thou  shalt  stone  him  with 
stones,  that  he  die ';  ( take  heed  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be 
oyercharged  with  surfeiting '. 

Uncertainty  as  to  a  past  event  may  arise  from  our 

own  ignorance,  in  which  case  the  subjunctive  is  properly 
employed,  and  serves  the  useful  purpose  of  distinguishing  our 
ignorance  from  our  knowledge.  '  If  any  of  my  readers  has 
looked  with  so  little  attention  upon  the  world  around  him ' ; 
this  would  mean — *  as  I  know  that  they  have  '.  The  meaning 
intended  is  probably — '  as  I  do  not  know  whether  they  have 
or  not ',  and  therefore  the  subjunctive  '  have '  is  pre- 
ferable. '  If  ignorance  is  bliss ',  which  I  (ironically)  admit. 
Had  Pope  been  speaking  seriously,  he  would  have  said  '  if 
ignorance  be  bliss  ',  he  himself  dissenting  from  the  proposition. 

A  wish  contrary  to  the  fact  takes  the  subjunctive :  « I 
wish  he  were  here  '  (which  he  is  not). 
An  intention  not  yet  carried  out  is  also  subjunctive : 

*  the  sentence  is  that  you  be  imprisoned  '. 

The  only  correct  form  of  the  future  subjunctive  is — '  if  I 
should '.  We  may  say  '  I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  I  shall 
come  '  ;  but  '  if  I  shall  come  ',  expressing  a  condition,  is  not  an 
English  construction  *  If  he  will '  has  a  real  meaning,  as  being 
the  present  subjunctive  of  the  verb  *  will '  :  *  if  he  be  willing  ', 

*  if  he  have  the  will '.     It  is  in  accordance  with  good  usage  to 
express  a  future  subjunctive  meaning  by  a  present  tense  ;  but 
in  that  case  the  form  must  be  strictly  subjunctive,  and  not 
indicative.     '  If  any  member  absents  himself,  he  shall  forfeit  a 
penn3T  for  the  use  of  the  club '  ;  this  ought  to  be  either  *  absent', 
or  '  should  absent '.     '  If  thou  neglectest,  or  doest  unwillingly, 
what  I  command  thee,  I  will  rack  thee  with  old  cramps  '  ;  better, 

*  if  thou  neglect,  or  do  unwillingly  ',  or  'if  thou  should  neglect'. 
The  indicative  would  be  justified  by  the  speaker's  belief  that 
the  supposition  is  sure  to  turn  out  to  be  the  fact. 

these  stones  be  made  bread* ;  cif  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down 
from  the  cross '.  For  although  the  address  was  not  sincere  on  the  part 
of  the  speakers,  they  really  meant  to  make  the  supposition  or  to  grant 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  'seeing  that  thou  art  the  Son  of  God'. 
Likewise  in  the  following :  '  Now  if  Christ  be  preached,  that  He  rose  from 
the  dead,  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is  no  resurrection  from  the 
dead?'  The  meaning  is  'seeing  now  that  Christ  is  preached '.  In  the  con- 
tinuation, the  conditional  clauses  are  of  a  different  character,  and  '  be  '  is 
appropriate :  '  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection  from  the  dead,  then  is 
Christ  not  risen.  And  if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching 
vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain".  Again,  '  if  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the 
altar,  and  there  remembered,  &c."  Consistency  and  correctness  r^equirq. 
'remember '.~Hairibon  on  the  English  Language,  p.  267. 


184  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

43.  The  Past  Subjunctive  may  imply  denial ;  aa 
'if  the  book  were  in   the  library  (as  it  is  not),  it 
should  be  at  your  service '. 

1  If  the  book  be  in  the  library ',  means,  *  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  be  or  not '.  We  have  thus  the  power  of  discrimi- 
nating three  different  suppositions.  'If  the  book  is  in  the 
library '  (as  I  know  it  is) ;  'if  it  be  '  (I  am  uncertain)  ;  '  if  it 
were  '  (as  I  know  it  is  not).  So,  '  if  it  rains  ',  '  if  it  rain ',  '  if 
it  rained '.  '  Nay,  and  the  villains  march  wide  between  the 
legs,  as  if  they  had  gyves  on ',  implying  that  they  had  not. 

The  same  power  of  the  past  tense  is  exemplified  in  'if  I 
could,  I  would ',  which  means,  '  I  cannot '  j  whereas,  '  if  I  can, 
I  will ',  means  '  I  do  not  know '. 

44.  The  Past  Subjunctive  may  be  expressed  by 
an  inversion  :  *  had  I  the  power ',  *  were  I  as  I  have 
been '. 

45.  In    Principal    Clauses.— The   principal 
clause  in  a  conditional  statement  also  takes 
the  Subjunctive  form  when  it  refers  to  what  is 
future  and  contingent,  and  when  it  refers  to  wbat 
is  past  and  uncertain,  or  denied.    'If  he  should 
try,  he  would  succeed  j '  '  if  I  had  seen  him,  I  should 
have  asked  him '. 

The  usual  forms  of  the  subjunctive  in  the  principal  clause, 
are  '  would  ',  '  should  ',  '  would  have ',  '  should  have  '  ;  and  it 
is  to  be  noted  that  in  this  application  the  second  persons  take 
the  inflexional  ending  of  the  indicative  :  '  shouldst ',  '  \vouldst '. 

'  If  'twere  done,  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere  (would  be)  well 
It  were  (should  be)  done  quickly.' 

The  English  idiom  appears  sometimes  to  permit  the  use  of  an 
indicative  where  \ve  should  expect  a  subjunctive  form.  '  Many 
acts,  that  had  been  othenvi.se  blameable,  were  employed '  ; 
'  I  had  fainted,  unless  I  had  believed  ',  &c. 

'  Which  else  lie  furled  and  shrouded  in  the  soul' 

In  '  else  '  there  is  implied  a  conditional  clause  that  would 
suit  'lie'  ;  or  the  prose/it  maybe  regarded  as  a  more  vivid 
form  of  expression.  '  Had  '  may  be  indicative  ;  just  as  we  some- 
times find  pluperfect  indicative  for  pluperfect  subjunctive  in  the 
same  circumstances  in  Latin.  \Ve  may  refer  it  to  the  general 
tendency,  as  already  seen  in  the  uses  of  '  could  ',  '  would ', 
'should',  &c.t  to  express  conditionally  by  a  past  tense;  or 


THE   PRESENT   INDEFINITE   SENSE.  185 

the  indicative  may  be  used  as  a  more  direct  and  vivid  mode. 
'  Had '  may  be  subjunctive  ;  '  I  had  fainted  '  is,  in  construction, 
analogous  to  '  I  should  have  fainted '  ;  the  word  for  futurity, 
'  shall ',  not  being  necessary  to  the  sense,  is  withdrawn,  and  its 
past  inflexion  transferred  to  '  have '.  Compare  Germ,  wiirde 
haben  and  hdtte. 

THE   INFINITIVE. 

4-6.  The  perfect  form  of  the  infinitive,  'to  have 
written',  is  often  erroneously  used  for  the  simple 
or  indefinite  form,  *  to  write '. 

'  I  intended  to  have  written '  should  be  '  I  intended  to  write '. 
The  perfect  infinitive  is  properly  used  only  when  the  action  is 
completed  previous  to  the  date  of  the  governing  verb  ;  as  '  I  am 
glad  to  have  met  you '. 

'It  is '  should  be  followed  by  the  infinitive  with  '  to ',  and 
not  by  the  infinitive  in  *  ing '.  '  It  is  easy  distinguishing '  ought 
to  be  '  it  is  easy  to  distinguish '. 

Meanings  of  the  Tenses. 

THE  PRESENT   INDEFINITE. 

4-7.  The  principal  use  of  the  Present  Indefinite  is 
to  express  what  is  true  at  ali  times:  'the  sun 
gives  light '  \  '  twice  two  is  four ' ;  *  man  is  mortal ' ; 
'  conscience  makes  cowards  of  us  all '. 

Hence  a  more  suitable  name  would  be  the  Universal  tense. 
It  expresses  present  time  only  as  representing  all  time.  The 
permanent  arrangements  and  laws  of  nature,  the  peculiarities, 
habits,  and  propensities  of  living  beings,  and  whatever  is  con- 
stant, regular,  and  uniform,  have  to  be  represented  by  the 
present  indefinite. 

'  The  mountains  look  on  Marathon, 
And  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea.'     £^  £4,0^,  C,c4l<.$ 

So  in  expressing  men's  characters  and  habitual  occupations ; 
as  ' he  works  hard ';  'he  superintends  the  harbour ';  ' he  sings  a 
good  song ';  'he  has  a  good  name '. 

48.  It  is  only  by  a  special  Adverb,  or  by  the 
context,  that  we  can  confine  this  tense  to  mean 
a  present  act  solely:  'I  now  charge  this  jar'; 
1  at  present  I  do  duty  for  another  person ';  '  now  tread 
we  a  measure,  said  young  Lochinvar '. 


186  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

Frequently  we  know  from  the  context  that  the  affirmation  is 
for  the  present  only.  When  any  one  says  '  the  door  is  open ', 
we  understand  that  it  is  not  always  open,  but  is  so  at  present. 
'  The  wind  blows  hard ',  '  we  are  late ',  '  the  stranger  spzaks  to 
you  ',  :  Mr.  Speaker  is  in  the  chair ',  are  declarations  known  from 
the  circumstances  to  be  strictly  present,  as  opposed  to  past  and 
future. 

49.  This  Tense  has  sometimes  a  future  mean- 
ing; as  'Duncan  comes  here  to-niyht ;';  'I  go  to  my 

father '. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  present  was  the  usual 
expression  of  future  time  in  0.  E.,  there  being  no  future  in- 
flexion. 

In  the  first  example  above,  the  futurity  is  definitely  expressed 
by  the  adverb  '  to-night '.  In  the  second  example,  the  meaning 
of  the  verb  points  to  the  future  ;  the  action  'I  go '  is  a  con- 
tinuing action. 

Also  in  such  a  phrase  as  '  how  is  the  government  to  be  carried 
on  ? '  futurity  is  involved  in  the  gerund  form  '  to  be  carried  on '. 

We  have  seen  that  a  future  subjunctive  is  expressed  by  a 
present  tense. 

There  is  a  rhetorical  employment  of  the  tense  known  as  the 
historic  present.  This  consists  in  describing  past  events  as  if 
the  narrator  saw  them  passing  before  his  eyes  : 

'  Fierce  as  he  moves,  his  silver  shafts  resound.' 

THE   PRESENT   PROGRESSIVE,  IMPERFECT,  OR   INCOMPLETE. 

50.  The  Progressive   form,    'I   am   writing', 
expresses  the  continuance  of  the  action   over 
some  time.  It  is,  moreover,  a  true  or  strict  present 
teiise. 

This  pecxiliarly  English  form  enables  us  both  to  confine  an 
action  or  a  fact  to  the  present,  instead  of  extending  it  over  all 
time,  and  to  intimate  that  the  agent  is  now  engrossed,  and  is 
barred  from  other  occupation.  Even  when  the  indefinite  tense 
is  limited  by  the  context  to  a  present  operation,  it  does  not 
mean  the  same  as  the  progressive.  *  He  writes  '  merely  states  the 
action  that  he  is  engaged  in.  and  implies  that  he  does  not  read, 
or  walk,  or  talk,  or  sit  idle.  '  He  is  writing '  indicates  that  he 
is  now  fully  occupied,  and  is  not  available  for  any  other  work. 
Hence,  in  describing  immediate  occupation,  this  tense  is  used  : 
' he  is  balancing  his  books';  'he  is  revising  his  mathematics'; 
'  he  is  pursuing  his  investigations ';  '  the  boys  arc  playing '. 


THE   PROGRESSIVE   TENSES.  187 

THE  PAST  TENSES. 

51.  The  Past  Indefinite  states  something  that 
was  formerly  true,  but  is  no  longer  so:   'at 

Athens  the  poets  sang,  and  the  sages  taught ' ;  *  there 
my  young  footsteps  in  infancy  wandered ' ;  '  he  died, 
no  one  knew  how  '. 

The  very  nature  of  this  tense  implies  limitation  as  compared 
with  the  present.  It  may  indicate  various  degrees  of  extent  of 
time.  '  In  the  geological  ages,  the  air  had  more  carbon  ',  may 
apply  to  a  period  of  millions  of  years  ;  it  is  a  law  of  nature 
applicable  to  a  period  of  great  duration,  but  now  passed.  Or  it 
may  denote  a  single  act  of  the  least  possible  extent  of  time  : 
'  the  lightning  flashed ',  '  the  tree  was  shivered  '.  The  tense 
does  not  indicate  how  far  back  in  the  past^the  event  took  place. 

52.  The  Past  Progressive,  like   the   Present, 
affirms   continuance:    'I   was  musing1 ;   'he   was 
speaking ';  '  the  sun  was  shining '. 

The  progressive  tenses,  both  present  and  past,  are  often 
erroneously  used  for  the  indefinite.  When  the  object  is 

merely  to  specify  an  action,  and  not  to  point  out  the  fact  of  its 
continuing  for  some  time,  the  indefinite  forms  are  to  be  used  : 
'  I  walk '  ;  '  he  rides '  ;  '  you  go  in  the  boat '  ;  '  I  read  '  ;  '  he 
sketched '  ;  '  they  stood  by  '.  In  all  these  expressions  nothing 
further  is  intended  than  to  assign  to  each  party  concerned  their 
several  actions  :  it  is  not  meant  to  say  whether  the  actions  are 
of  longer  or  shorter  continuance.  But,  '  I  am  walking ',  '  I 
was  riding ',  *  they  were  gazing  at  the  scene  ',  signify  that  the 
action  lasted  for  some  time,  and  constituted  the  occupation  of 
the  persons  concerned.  When,  therefore,  without  wishing  to 
signify  continuance  or  occupation,  we  employ  a  progressive 
tense,  we  violate  the  best  English  usage.  The  expressions, 
1  the  master  is  calling  you  ',  '  he  is  speaking  to  you ',  '  were  you 
ringing  ? '  'I  was  supposing ',  '  he  is  not  intending ',  are 
Scotticisms  for  '  the  master  calls  ',  '  he  speaks  to  you  ',  '  did  you 
ring  ? '  '  I  supposed ',  '  he  does  not  intend '.  '  I  talked  yesterday 
with  a  foreigner  ',  '  I  saw  in  the  papers  ',  '  I  heard  in  the  morn- 
ing',  are  more  in  accordance  with  idiom  than  would  be  the 
progressive  form  in  those  instances,  if  we  suppose  no  stress  laid 
OH  the  continuance  of  the  action.  '  He  leaves  town  to-morrow  ', 
is  better  than  '  he  is  leaving  town  to-morrow  '.  '  He  is  leaving 
for  India ',  may  be  justified  on  the  ground  that  he  is  to  be 
occupied  for  some  time  with  the  preparations  implied  in  so 
distant  a  migration. 


188  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 

THE    PERFECT  TENSES. 

53.  The    Present    Perfect   expresses   (I)   an 
action  just  finished,  (2)   an  action   done  in 
a  space  of  time  not  yet  exhausted,  (3)  some- 
thing whose  consequences  still  remain.    (1.) 

'  I  have  sent  the  letter ' ;  '  the  messenger  has  come '. 
(2.)  '  It  has  rained  all  the  week  (up  to  this  time) ' ; 
'  we  have  seen  great  events  this  year '.  (3.)  *  I  have  been 
a  great  sinner ' ;  meaning  I  was  so  in  my  youth,  and 
now  bear  the  consequences. 

The  perfect,  by  expressing  that  an  action  is  finished  or 
complete,  indicates  that  it  is  past ;  but  this  tense  should  not  be 
used  to  express  past  time  without  some  of  the  accompaniments 
above  described.  '  This  mode  of  expression  has  been  formerly 
very  much  admired ',  should  be  '  was '. 

From  expressing  the  finishing  of  an  action,  the  perfect  has 
been  used  to  signify  the  state  of  vacuity  that  follows  :  '  he  has 
been '  =  '  he  is  no  more  ' ;  *  he  is  dead '  (Lat.  vizit,  '  he  lias 
lived ').  '  1  have  been  young ',  is  '1  am  now  old  '. 

The  perfect  of  continued  action,  the  Perfect  Progressive 
or  Continuous.  '  I  have  been  working  ',  is  correctly  understood 
by  combining  the  meaning  of  a  progressive  and  of  a  perfect 
tense.  It  is  an  action  expressed  as  going  on  up  to  the  present 
time. 

The  so-called  present  intentional,  '  I  am  going  (or  about)  to 
write ',  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  perfect.  The  one  is  an 
action  just  finished,  the  other  an  action  just  commencing. 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  TENSES  OF   THE  PASSIVE  VOICE. 

54.  In  the  Passive  Voice,  the  Progressive 
Tenses  are,  '  I  am  being  loved ',  '  I  was  being  loved ', 
'  (if)  I  were  being  loved  '.     These  forms  are  of  recent 
introduction. 

The  English  verb  has  no  strictly  imperfect  participle  passive. 
'  Loved '  is  past  and  indefinite,  depending  for  its  precise  shade  of 
time  meaning  upon  the  principal  verb  it  is  joined  in  construction 
with.  Hence,  although  we  can  constitute  a  progressive  tense 
in  the  active  voice,  by  the  active  participle  and  the  verb  '  be  ', 
—  'he  is  living ',  we  have  no  corresponding  passive  form  :  '  am 
loved  '  makes  the  indefinite  form.  To  try  to  give  '  loved  '  the 
desired  meaning  of  continuance,  the  imperfect  or  incomplete 
'  being  '  has  been  prefixed  :  '  being  loved  ',  =  '  existing  in  the 


ACTIVE   FORMS   APPARENTLY    IN   PASSIVE   SENSE.   189 

loved  state  or  condition ',  is  thus  an  indefinite  participle  that 
may  easily  be  interpreted  in  the  sense  of  a  continuing  action. 
The  form,  indeed,  is  objectionable,  partly  as  being  cumbrous, 
and  partly  because  it  is  very  often  used  in  a  purely  past  mean- 
ing without  reference  to  continuance.  '  Napoleon,  being 
defeated  at  Waterloo,  surrendered  to  the  English '  is  the  same 
as  '  Napoleon  was  defeated  and  surrendered  '. 

Formerly  the  meaning  was  very  often  given  by  an  apparent 
use  of  the  active  form  in  the  passive  sense  :  '  the  house  is 
building '  for  '  the  house  is  being  built '.  But  the  transferred 
application  of  the  active  form  is  not  real.  '  The  house  is 
building '  is  a  degenerate  form  of  '  the  house  is  a-buUdina '  ; 
the  original  expression  of  which  is  seen  fully  in  examples  like 
'  forty  and  six  years  was  this  temple  in  building  '.  '  Building  ', 
then,  is  originally  a  verbal  noun  ;  but  it  has  come  to  have  the 
force  of  an  active  participle  used  in  the  passive  or  intransitive 
sense. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  the  old  usage  causes  any  ambiguity  or 
hesitation,  as  numberless  examples  would  show.  Johnson  says 
'my  Lives  are  reprinting '.  We  constantly  say  'the  house  is 
finishing ',  '  the  declaration  was  reading ',  '  the  debt  is  owing  ', 
*  the  paper  is  missing  ',  '  five  pounds  is  wanting  ',  '  the  cows  are 
milking',  'the  drums  are  beating',  'the  cannon  are  firing', 
'  the  troops  are  arming '. 

Similar  instances  of  the  employment  of  the  active  form  for 
the  general  expression  of  the  action  of  the  verb — instances  where 
the  verb  is  intransitive,  and  might  in  one  view  have  been 
expected  to  become  passive — are  very  common.  We  have  them 
in  such  gerund  phrases  as  '  a  house  to  let  ',*  '  hard  to  understand ' 
(=  hard  fer  one  to  understand  ;  hard,  if  you  want  to  understand 
(it),  i.e.  =  hard  to  be  understood),  'good  to  eat',  'books  to 
sell',*  'he  is  to  blame',  ' drinking- water  (fit  for  drinking,  or  to 
be  drank) ',  '  a  riding-horse '.  Milton  says,  *  that  cannot  but 
by  annihilating  die '. 

55.  Intransitive  verbs  have  no  passive 
voice. 

There  is  the  appearance  of  a  passive  form  in  examples  like 
'  is  come  ',  '  was  arrived '.  But  this  construction  is  merely  the 
remains  of  the  regular  formation  of  the  perfect  tense  of  intran- 
sitives  by  help  of  the  auxiliary  'be'.  Compare  the  German 
usage.  'Have'  originally  belongs  to  the  transitive  verbs,  but 
has  improperly  been  transferred  to  the  intransitives  also.  We 
say  '  has  come  '  as  well  as  '  is  come '.  It  would  seem  advan- 

*  These,  and  not  '  a  house  to  b«  let ',  '  to  be  told ',  are  the  genuine 
English  forms. 


190  INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 

tageous  to  utilise  the  two  forms  for  different  meanings.  '  Has 
come  '  appears  more  suitable  to  the  case  of  an  active  or  personal 
subject :  '  John  has  come'  ;  the  other  to  a  passive  or  inanimate 
subject:  '  the  box  is  come'.  Hence,  for  'the  noble  Brutus  is 
ascended  ',  we  should  now  prefer  *  has  ascended '.  '  He  way  (had) 
entered  into  the  connexion '  is  a  Scotticism. 

The  Strong  Conjugation. 

56.  The  Old   or  Strong  Verbs  form  their 
past  tense  by   modifying  the   vowel   of  the 
present  and   their  past   participle  ends  (or 
ended)  in  -n  (-en). 

We  have  already  seen  (§  8)  that  the  modification  of  the  root 
vowel  arose  in  the  first  instance  as  a  result  of  reduplication. 
The  -n  ending  of  the  participle  is  often  dropt. 

The  following  classification  proceeds  according  to  the  living 
forms  of  the  Past  Tense  and  of  the  Past  Participle,  not  according 
to  the  original  inflexions. 

57.  1.  Some  strong  verbs  change  the  vowel  of 
the  Present  for  the  Past  Tense  and  leave  it 
unchanged  in  the  Past  Participle. 

(1)  Past  Vowel,  a  : 

Present  Tense.  Past  Tense.             Past  Participle, 

e:  £                                  e: 

eat  ate                                    eaten 

I:  i: 

give  gave                                 given 

u:  th 

come  came                                 come 
The  compounds — '  forgive ',  '  become ',  '  overcome ' — are  con- 
jugated similarly. 

(2)  Past  Vowel,  a  : 

i:  &  *: 

bid  "bade  bidden,  bid 

u :  w  : 

run  ran  run 

•  Forbid  '  is  conjugated  like  '  bid '.  '  Bade  '  (O.E.  bced)  has  a 
companion  form  '  bid '  (§  60),  adopted  from  p.  part.  '  Run  ' 
(O.E.  yrne,  rinne)  originally  belongs  to  the  class  in  §  59,  3, 
(1),  « begin  ',&c. 


OLD    OR    STRONG    CONJUGATION. 


191 


^3)  Past  Vowel,  & : 

o :  e  o : 

fall  fell  fallen 

*  Befall '  takes  the  same  forms. 

(4)  Past  Vowel,  6  : 

</:  6  (aw)  t: 

see  saw  seen 

(5)  Past  Vowel,  Ci  or  yii  (-ew) : 

d :  d  or  yd  (ew)                d : 

slay  slew                              slain 

6:  6: 

blow  blew                             blown 

crow  crew                               crown* 

grow  grew                               grown 

know  knew                             known 

throw  threw                             thrown 

o:  o: 

draw  drew                               drawn 
*  There  is  also  the  weak  form  '  crowed '. 

(6)  Past  Vowel,  Q  : 

d :  ft  (oo)  d : 

forsake  forsook  forsaken 

shake  shook  shaken 

take  took  taken 

In  the  16th  and  17th  centuries  the  past  forms  '  forsook ', 
'  shook ',  '  took  ',  '  mistook  ',  were  often  used  for  the  past  parti- 
ciple. For  '  shaken ',  the  weak  form  '  shaked '  is  also  found. 

58.  2.  Some  strong  verbs  change  the  vowel  of 
the  Present  in  the  same  manner  for  both 
Past  Tense  and  Past  Participle. 

(1)  Vowel  & : 

£  a 

i  :  lie  lay  lain 

The  past  part.  '  lien '  was  not  uncommon  in  the  16th  and  17th 
centuries. 

(2)  Vowel  a: 

el  Hi 

t  :  sit  sat  sat 

spit  spat  spat 

'Sat',  p.  part,  has  been  transferred  from  the  past  tense  to 
take  the  place  of  <  sitten  ',  O.E.  seten.  '  Sate  ',  past  and  p.  p., 
used  to  be  common  a  short  time  ago. 


192  INFLEXION    OP   VERBS. 

'  Spat '  is  historically  weak  in  the  past,  and  in  the  past 
part,  has  replaced  '  spitten '. 

(3)  Vowel  fc : 

fe  fe 

6 :  behold  beheld  beheld 

hold  held  held 

'  Beholden  '  and  '  holden  ',  past  part.,  have  given  way,  except 
occasionally  in  special  expressions,  to  the  past  forms  '  beheld  ', 
'  held '.  So  '  uphold  ',  '  withhold '. 

(4)  Vowel} : 

i  i 

i :  bite  bit  bitten,  bit 

chide  chid  chidden,  chid 

hide  hid  hidden,  hid 

slide  slid  slidden,  slid 

'  Bite  ',  '  chide  ',  and  r  slide '  were  formerly  conjugated  like 
'arise  ',  '  drive  ',  &c.,  (§  59,  3  (3)),  the  past  forms  being  '  bot ', 

•  chode  '  (in  Bible),   '  slode  '  (O.E.,  bat,  cad,  slad).     '  Bit '  and 

*  slid  '  have  been  assimilated  to  the  past  participles.     '  Chid  ' 
.(O.E.  cidde,f  chidde)  is  weak.     'Hid',  past,  (O.E.  hidde),  is  also 
weak.      'Rid',    'smit',    'writ',    &c.,  also  influenced  by  the 
participle,   were  common  past  forms  in  the   16th  and   17th 
centuries.     '  Betide '  would  seem  to  belong  here,  but  it  is  weak 
throughout. 

(5)  Vowel  6 1 

6  6 

d:  awake  awoke*  awoke* 

bear  (carry)  bore  borne 

bear  (to  bring  forth)  bore  born 

break  broke  broken 

swear  swore  sworn 

tear  tore  torn 

wear  wore  worn 

</ :  cleave  (split)  clove*  cloven* 

freeze  froze  frozen 

shear  shore*  shorn* 

speak  spoke  spoken 

steal  stole  stolen 

weave  wove  woven 

i:  abide  abode  abode 

u  (oo) :  choose  chose  chosen 
*  There  are  also  the  companion  weakformg:  'awaked,  cleaved, 
•beared'. 


THE   STRONG   CONJUGATION.  193 

-  '  Bear  !  (to  carry)  and  *  bear  '  (to  bring  forth)'  are  not  different, 
Words,  but  the  same  word  in  different  meanings.      '  Borne  '  and 

*  born  *   are  mere   varieties  of   spelling  for  the   difference   in 
application.     *  Forbear  '  and  '  overbear  '  take,  the  form  '  -borne  '. 
*Bare',   'brake*,   'share',  'spake',   'tare'  (0.    E.  beer,  bar; 
brcec,  brae  ;  sccer,  schar  ;  sprcec,  spac  ;  leer,  tar),  are  older  forms 
of  the  pa,si.     So  '  sware  '  occurs  frequently  in  the  Bible,  but 
the  oldest  form  is  swor.     *  Wear  '  had  an  obsolete  form  '  ware  ' 
for  '  wore  '  ;  it  is  a  weak  verb  assimilated  to  this  class  of  strong 
verbs.     '  Cleave  '  (to  split)  had  '  clave  '  (0.  K  deaf]  •  f  steal  * 
had  O.Er  steel,  stal,  and  in  Scotch  it,  still  has  stal  or  sta';  '  choose' 
had  also  '*  chase  '  (0.  K  ceas)~     *  Cleave  '  (to  split)  has  the  weak 
forms  *  cleft  '  and  '  cleaved  '  in  past  and  p.p.     The  weak  *  cleave* 
(to  clin<*  or  stick  to),  O.  E.  -clifiqn,  seems  sometimes   to   be 
confounded  with  'cleave*  (it  split),  taking  'clave'  as  past  in 
the  Bible.      'Freeze*  has  p.:  past   'frozen*  (0.  E.  froren  in 
Spenser,  '  frore  '  in  Milton).     Compare  '  chosen  '  (0.  K  coren), 
and  0.  E.  losen,forlor(c)n,  lorn  (==  lost).     '  Awoke  'and  '  abode* 
(for  'awaken*  and  *abiden')  are  p.p.  derived  from  past  ;  and 
most  of  the  others  appear  to  -have  the  same  usage  in  the  16th 
and  17th  centuries,  though  we  may  also  account  for  it  by  the 
dropping  of  the  -n  of  the  p.p.  :  '  broke  ',  '  spoke  ',  &G. 


(6) 

Vowel 

6: 

6 

^ 

4'. 

seethe 

sod* 

sodden,  ! 

sod.* 

e: 

get 
tread 

got 
trod 

gotten,  got. 
trodden,  trod. 

I: 

shine 

shone 

shone. 

4(oo): 

shoot 

shot 

shot 

*  There  is  also  the  weak  form 

'seethed'. 

*  Beget  '  and  '  forget  ',  like  *  get  '.     An  older  past  tense  was 
-gat'  (0.  E.  -geaL).     *  Shone*,  p.p.,  is  the  past,  superseding 
O.E.  sdnen,  sliinen. 

(7)  Vowel  6  (ou). 

6  5 

£:  fight  fought  fought 

«  Fought',  p.p.,  has  lost  the  ending.  Shak  has  'this  well- 
jfoughten  field  . 

(8)  Vowel  Q(oo): 

ft  ft 

a:  stand  stood  stood 

/Stood',  p.p.,  is  a  new  application  of  the  past.     In  0.  E. 
the  past  part,  was  standeu.     '  Understand  '  (wliich  had  formerly 
•13 


194  INFLEXION   OP   VERBS. 

[p.p.  '  understands ',  '  understand ',  and  '  understand^  *)  and 
'withstand'  follow  the  simple  verb.  The  *  n  '  in  'stand* — as 
,in  '  gang '  (go),  '  bring ',  &c.  ;  Lat.  findo,  fundo,  &c.— streng. 
thens  the  present  form  ;  it  is  no  part  of  the  root. 

(9)  Vowel  fc  : 

ft  fc 

d:  hang  hung*  hung* 

i:  strike  struck  struck 

i:  dig  dug*  dug* 

cling  clung  clung 

fling  flung  flung 

sling  slung  slung 

slink  slunk  slunk 

spin  spun  spun 

stick  '•  stuck  stuck 

sting  '  stung  stung 

swing  swung  swung 

win  won  won 

wring  wrung  wrung 

*  The  parts  marked  thus  (*)  have  also  the  weak  form. 
'Hung',  past,  (0.  E.  heng),  has  been  transferred  to  p.p.  • 
the  weak  forms  are  more  common  for  the  sense  of  '  strangle '. 
'Struck',  0.  E.  and  Scotch  strac  ;  0.  E.  p.p.  stricen  appears 
later  as  strucken,  strooken,  '  stricken ',  now  '  struck  '.  We  still 
usually  say  *  stricken  in  years ',  or  '  stricken '  with  any  disease 
or  infirmity.  '  Dig '  and  '  stick  '  were  originally  weak. 

'  Cling ',  '  fling  ',  '  sling ',  &c.,  had  a  previous  a  in  the  past 
tense— '  clang',  'flang',  &c.  ;  like  the  class  in  §  59,  3,  (1), 
'  begin ',  &c.  But  the  pasts  are  now  for  the  most  part 
assimilated  to  the  participles.  These  have  all  lost  the  -en  ending. 

(10)  Diphthong  ou  : 

OU  OU 

t:  bind  bound  bound 

find  found  found 

grind  ground  ground 

wind  wound  wound 

Like  most  of  the  above  class,  these  four  had  originally  a  in 
the  past  ('  band  ',  '  fand ',  &c.)  and  u  in  the  participle  ('bunden', 
&c.),  as  in  mod.  Germ.  '  Boundew.'  remains  as  an  adj.  :  'one's 
bounden  duty  '.  Sir  "W.  Scott,  in  *  his  horn  he  wound '  (Lady 
of  the  Lake)  for  '  winded  ',  assimilates  two  different  verbs. 

59*.  3.  Some  old  verbs  change  in  different  waysj 
both  Past  Tense  and  Past  Participle. 


THE  STRONG   CONJUGATION.  195 

(1)  Vowels  k,  u  : 

a  it 

i  :  begin  began  begun 

drink  drank  drunk 

ring  rang  rung 

shrink  shrank  shrunk 

sing  sang  sung 

sink  sank  sunk 

spring  sprang  sprung 

stink  stank  stunk 

swim  swam  swum 

While  the  verbs  in  §  58,  2,  (9)  have  mostly  discarded  a  and 
taken  up  u  in  the  past,  the  present  verbs  keep  the  original  a 
and  now  prefer  not  to  use  the  u,  as  they  often  did  in  the  16th 
and  17th  centuries.  (Compare  the  same  verbs  in  German.)  The 
participial  -en  has  been  lost,  remaining  only  in  a  few  cases,  now 
adjectival :  '  drunkew ',  '  shrunken, ',  '  sunken '. 

(2)  Vowels  i,  u  : 

1  fr 

w(o)  :  do  did  done 

'Did'  (O.E.  dide),  as  we  have  seen  (§  8),  shows  the  original 
reduplication  to  form  the  past  tense. 

(3)  Vowels  6,  i : 

6  i 

i :  arise  arose  arisen 

drive  drove  driven 

ride  rode  ridden 

rise  rose  risen 

shrive  shrove  *  shriven  * 

smite  smote  smitten 

stride  strode  stridden 

strive  strove  striven  * 

thrive  throve*  thriven* 

write  wrote  written 
*  The  parts  marked  thus  (*)  have  also  the  weak  form. 

Most  of  these  verbs  have  got  their  o  from  an  original  a  (O.E. 
aras,  draf,  &c.),  which  appeared  in  drave,  strave,  &c.,  in  the 
16th  and  17th  centuries.  Within  the  same  period,  shortened 
forms  of  the  participle  were  often  used — smit,  writ,  &c. ;  and 
were  even  transferred  to  the  past  tense  (compare  §  58,  2,  (4) ). 

(4)  Vowels  6,6: 

ft  6 

f:fly  flew  flown 


196 


INFLEXION   OF   VERBS. 


'  Flow '  has  given  up  this  conjugation  for  the  weak  formation  : 
'  flowed '.  '  Flee ',  in  like  manner,  has  '  fled '. 

60.  4.  Some  strong  verbs  have  the  same  vowel 
throughout. 

e :  beat  beat  beaten 

e  :  let  let  let 

i :  bid  bid  bidden,  bid 

u :  burst  burst  burst 

The  past  '  beat '  now  takes  the  vowel  of  the  present,  and  may 
be  considered  weak,  but  in  0.  E.  it  was  beot,  later  bet.  '  Let ' 
had  a  weak  past  in  the  12th  century.  For  '  bid '  see  §  57,  1,  (2). 
'  Burst '  has  been  influenced  throughout  from  the  participle  : 
O.E.  berste  (pres.)  had  past  bearst,  barst,  or  brast,  and  p.  p. 
borsten,  bursten. 

61.  5.  The  following  strong  forms  are  incomplete. 
The  verbs  are  nearly   ail   also  conjugated   in 
weak  forms. 


heave 
wake 

go 

en -grave 

hew 

lade. 

lose 

melt 

mow 

rive 

shape 

shave 

sow 

swell 

rot 
saw 
show 
strew 


hove* 
woke* 

(O.E.  eode,  mod.  E.  went) 

(grof,  grove)* 
(heow,  hew)* 
(Mod,  lod)* 
(-leas)* 

(mealt,  malt)* 
(meow,  mew)* 
(rove)* 

(scop,  shope)* 
(scof,  shove)* 
(seow,  sew)* 
(sweal,  swal,  swot) 


(hafen,  hove(n)) 
(wacen)* 

gone 

en-graven  * 
hewn  * 
laden  * 
lorn  *,  forlorn 
molten  * 
mown* 
riven  * 
shapen  * 
shaven* 
sown  * 
swollen,  swoln* 

rotten* 
sawn* 
shown* 
strewn* 


(be) 

(hate) 

(cwethe) 


hight 

quoth  (cwceth) 
was  (wees) 
The  parts  marked  thus  (*)  have  also  the  weak  form.. 


been 

hight 

(cwethen) 


THE    WEAK    CONJUGATION.  197 

1  Hove  '  (0.  E.  hof)  is  now  almost  exclusively  nautical  :  *hove 
to  ',  '-hove  in  sight '.  '  Go '  (0.  E.  inf.  gangan,  contracted  gan; 
indie,  ga)  had  an  0.  E.  past  geong,  geng,  long  since  disused,  its 
place  being  now  supplied  by  '  went ',  the  past  of  the  weak  verb 
'wend'  (O.  E.  wcndan,  'to  turn',  'go').  An  earlier  substi- 
tute was  eode,  yode,  the  past  of  a  lost  weak  verb  from  the  root 
'  i'  ('to  go  ').  '  Lor(e)n  ',  '  forlor(e)n  ',  have  turned  s  into  r,  a 
common  change  in  language  :  they  are  for  losen,  forlosen  (§  58, 
2,  (5)).  'Molten',  'shaven',  'sown',  'rotten',  &c.,  are  only 
or  chiefly  used  as  adjectives  :  '  molten  gold  ',  '  shaven  crown  ', 
&c.  '  Hot ',  '  saw  ',  '  show  ',  '  strew  ',  are  weak  verbs  with  the 
single  strong  formation  of  the  participle.  '  Been  '  supplies 
pres.  indie,  by  '  am  ',  and  past  by  '  was  '.  '  Quoth  '  may  be 
supplied  from  '  say ',  '  said  '.  '  Might '  originally  is  only  past, 
but  also  took  the  place  of  haten,  hoten  (called)  :  now  archaic. 

The  Weak  Conjugation. 

62.  The  New  or  Weak  Verbs  form  their 
past  tense  and  past  participle  in  -d  (or  -ed, 
or  -t). 

"We  have  already  seen  (§  8)  that  the  ending  of  the  past  tense, 
-d  (0.  E.  -de],  is  a  modification  of  '  did ',  the  reduplicated  past 
of  '  do '  ;  and  that  the  ending  of  the  participle,  though  now  of 
the  same  form,  has  a  different  origin. 

Most  usually  the  form  -ed  is  written,  though  the  ~e  is  merely 
a  connecting  vowel  seldom  pronounced  now.  The  pronuncia- 
tion is  influenced  by  the  sounds  immediately  preceding,  and,  to 
agree  with  this,  -t  is  sometimes  written  in  place  of  -d  or  ~cd. 

63.  1.  The  most  common  ending  is  -ed. 

The  insertion  of  the  binding  vowel  is  necessary  in  pronuncia- 
tion when  the  simple  verb  ends  in  a  dental  -t  or  -d  :  '  plant, 
plant-ed '  ;  '  proceed,  proceed-ed  '.  In  cases  like  '  cite.  cit(e)-ed', 
'  rate,  rate(e)-ed ',  '  precede,  preced(e)-ed ',  the  final  -e  of  the 
simple  verb  is  a  mere  device  of  spelling,  which  gives  way  before 
the  inflexional  ending  or  is  utilized  as  connecting  vowel.  The 
binding  vowel  also  appears  in  cases  where  it  is  not  wanted  for 
the  usual  pronunciation,  and  the  addition  of  the  ending  is 
accompanied  with  some  peculiarities  of  spelling,  as  in  the  plural 
of  nouns,  the  comparison  of  adjectives  and  verbs,  and  the 
inflexion  of  second  and  third  persons  singular  of  verbs  :  '  love, 
loved',  'save,  saved',  'turn,  turned',  'fell,  feHrd ',  'oppose, 
opposed',  'veto,  veto-ed',  'sip,  sip-^-ed ',  'dig,  dig-</-ed ', 
'  carry,  carr-s'-ed  '. 


198  INFLEXION   OP   VEBB8. 

64.  2.  In  some  cases,  -d   alone  is   added  and 
the  vowel  of  the  simple  verb  is  modified. 

(1)  With  shortened  vowel : 

flee  fled  fled 

hear  heard  heard 

shoe  shod  shod 

(2)  With  lengthened  vowel  (e  into  6) : 

sell  sold  sold 

tell  told  told 

'Sell',  &c.  :  0.  E.  sellan,  sealde,  (ge)seald  or  said.  'Tell', 
&c.:  0.  E.  tellan,  tealdc,  teald  or  tald.  The  e  of  the  present 
and  the  o  of  the  past  are  modifications  of  an  original  a. 

(3)  With  change  of  spelling  : 

lay  laid  laid 

pay  paid  paid 

say  said  said 

stay  staid*  staid* 

'Lay',  &c.  :  0.  E.  letgan,   1st  sing.  pres.  indie,  lecge,  later 

leye  ;  past  Iccgde,  leyde,  leyde  ;  p.  part,  leycd,  leyd.      '  Say ',  &c. : 

0.  E.  secgan,  indie .  secgc,  seyc  ;  past  sceydc,  soede,  seide  ;  p.  part. 

scegd,  seed.       '  Staid '  is  usually  an   adjective,  or  intransitive. 

'  Afraid '   is   originally    the   p.    part,    of    *  affray ',    and    was 

previously  spelt  '  affrayed  '. 

(4)  With  other  change  :  ( clad  ',  *  had  ',  '  made ', 

clothe  clad*  clad* 

have  had  had 

make  made  made 

Cloiliedc  or  clethede,  dethdc,  clcdde,  dcd,  '  clad ';  on  analogy 
of  ledde,  ladde,  lad,  'led'.  For  'had',  see  §  16.  'Make', 
&c.  :  0.  E.  macian,  inacode,  tnacod  •  c  falls  out  by  the  13th 
century  ;  Chaucer  has  p.  p.  both  maked  and  mood. 

65.  3.  Often  -t  is  added  for  -d. 

After  a  surd  (sharp)  consonant  (p,  f  (v),  k.  s  (z)t 
'and  /,  m,  n),  preceded  by  a  short  o?*  shortened  vowel : 

p:  creep  crept  crept 

keep  kept  kept 

leap  leapt*  leapt* 

sleep  slept  slept 

sweep  swept  swept 

weep  wept  wept 
*  The  prxrts  marked  thus  (*;  have  also  the  form  in  -ed. 


THE   WEAK    CONJUGATION.  199 

dip  dipt*  dipt* 

ship  shipt*  slipt* 

stiip  stript*  stript* 

whip  whipt*  whipt* 

chop  chopt*  chopt* 

drop  dropt*  dropt* 

lop  lopt*  lopt* 

stop  stopt*  stopt* 

&c.  fee. 

f(v):  bereave  bereft*  bereft* 

cleave  cleft*  cleft* 

leave  left  left 

*  Puffed  ',  'stuffed',  &c.,  are  written,  though  we  speak  'puff, 
stuft ',  &c. 

k  :  'cracki.1,  'lickr,  *lock^',  &c.,  may  be  written,  but  the 
forms  in  -ed  are  the  common  ones. 

*:  pass  past*  past* 

bless  blest*  blest* 

press  prest*  prest* 

*(z):  lose  lost  lost 

The  verbs  in  -ss  drop  one  s  before  -t ;  but  this  formation  is 
not  common.  It  is  more  frequent  in  poetry  than  in  prose,  as 
it  represents  the  pronunciation  to  the  eye, 

I :  deal  desalt  dealt 

feel  felt  felt 

kneel  knelt  knelt 

dwell  dwelt*  dwelt* 

smell  smelt  *  smelt* 

spell  spelt  *  spelt  * 

spill  spilt*  spilt* 

One  of  the  Zs  is  dropt  before  -t. 

wi  :  dream  dreamt  *  drSamt  * 

n:  lean  leant*  leant* 

mean  m£ant  me'ant 

pen  (shut)  pent*  pent 

learn  iCarnt  *  learnt  * 

burn  burnt  *  burnt  * 

In  O.  E.  such  verbs  as  'blanch',  'clench',  'drench', 
1  quench ',  '  singe ',  &c. ,  left  out  the  ch  or  g  in  the  past  tense  and1 
p.  part:  'blent,  blent',  '  cleynte,  cleynt ',  &c.,  'seynde, 
seynd ',  &c. 

'  Wont ',  as  in  '  he  was  wont ',  is  the  p.  part,  of  the  obsolete 
verb  '  wone  '  (0.  E.  ivunian),  '  to  dwell '  :  hence  '  wont '  (part.) 
*  The  parts  marked  thus  (*)  have  also  the  form  in  -ed. 


(200  INFLEXION   OF  VERBS. 

r=  '  in  the  habit  (of)',  and  'wont'  (noun),  « habit',  •custom'. 
(Sometimes  'wont'  was  used  as  a  past  tense,  for  'was  wont'. 
.Also  '  wonts '  (—  'is  accustomed '),  and  '  wonted '  ('  accustomed', 
1 '  usual '),  p.  part,  as  adjective. 

(2)  After  vowel  changed  to  o  (au  or  ou)  : 

au :  catch  caught*  caught* 

teach  taught  taught 

•  Catch '  has  assimilated  its  forms  to  •  teach '.  0.  E.  tascan 
i(indie.  tcece),  tcehte,  tceht. 

We  have  also  'fraught'  (for  'freighted')  ;  and  'distraught* 
(for  '  distracted ') — O.  E.  streccan  (indie,  strecce  :  '  stretch ')  form- 
ing streahte,  streaht.  '  Reach '  at  one  time  had  '  raught '  (for 
'reached '). 

»u  :  beseech  besought  *  besought  * 

bring  brought  brought 

buy  bought  bought 

seek  sought  sought 

think  thought  thought 

(me)  thinks  (me)thought 

work  wrought*  wrought* 

'  Beseech '  is  from  '  seek ',  0.  E.  secan  (indie,  sect),  sdhlc, 
foht.  '  Bring '  and  "think '  have  inserted  a  non-radical  n  :  like 
*  stand ',  &c.  (§  58,  2,  (8)).  Besides  brohte,  brokt,  bringan\\&<\  in 
O.  E.  also  brang,  brungen :  like  'sing',  &c.  (§59,  3,  (1)). 
TAcncanliad  thohte,  tho/it.  '  Methinks '  (lit.  '  (to)  me  (it)  stems') 
is  cognate:  0.  E.  ihyncth,  thuhte,  thuht.  'Buy',  &c.  :  0.  E. 
lycgan  (indie,  bycge),  bohte,  boht.  'Work',  &c.  :  O.E.  wyrcan, 
worhtc,  worht. 

66.  4.  Final  -d  of  the  simple  verb  is  some- 
times changed  to  -t,  when  preceded  by  a 
liquid — n,  I,  or  r.  The  liquid  is  also  pieceded  by  a 
short  vowel. 

end  ;  bend  bent*  bent  * 

blend  blent*  blent* 

lend         .  lent*  lent* 

rend  rent  rent  , 

send  sent  sent 

spend  spent  spent 

wend  went  * 

Md:  build  built*  built* 

gild  gilt*  gilt* 

ird  :  gird  girt  *  girt  * 


THE   WEAK   CONJUGATION.  201 

The  past  ending  -de  readily  coalesced  with  the  d  of  the  simple 
verb  ;  and  the  influence  of  the  preceding  short  vowel  and  liquid 
easily  turned  -d  into  -t.  '  "Went '  supplies  a  past  form  to  '  <*o ' 
(§61,5). 

67.  5.  Some  weak  verbs  merely  shorten  the 
long  vowel  of  the  simple  form. 

bleed  bled  bled 

breed  bred         •  bred 

feed  fed  fed 

lead  led  led 

read  rSad  read 

speed  sped  sped 

betide  ^^  betid  betid 

chide   »S  chid  chid 

hide     ~  <N  hid  hid 

meet  met  met 

light  lit  *  lit  * 
Most  of  these  end  in  -d.     In  O.E.   the  pasts  show  the  in- 

flexional  ending  :  '  fedde ',  '  ledde ',  &c.     '  Alight '  takes  the  full 

form,  '  alighted '. 

68.  6.  Some  weak  verbs  often  show  no  differ- 
ence of  form  in  the  past  tense  and  past  participle. 

beat  (§  60,  4)  beat  beat 

bet  bet  *  bet  * 

bid  (§  60,  4)  bid  bid 

And  similarly  :  burst  (§  60,  4),  cast,  cut,  durst,  hit,  hurt, 
knit,  let,  put,  rid,  set,  shed,  shred,  shut,  slit,  split,  spread, 
thrust. 

In  the  Elizabethan  age  the  -ed  of  weak  verbs  was  often  dis- 
pensed with,  especially  in  poetry. 

69.  In  addition  to  those   already  mentioned,   the 
following  verbs,  originally  strong,  have  become 
weak  : 

ache  chew  drop  glide 

bellow  climb  dye  gnaw 

be-reave  creep  fare  gripe 

bow  cringe  flee  hang  (§  58,  2,  (9)) 

braid  crowd  float  help 

brew  delve  flow  kn^ad 

burn  dive  fold  laugh 

carve  dread  fret  leap 


202 


INFLEXION    OP    VERBS. 


let 

row 

starve 

wax 

lie  (tell  lies) 

rue 

step 

weep 

lock 

scathe 

stint 

weigh 

lot  (cast  lots) 

shed  (divide) 

suck 

well 

lout  (bow) 

shove 

sup 

whoop 

low 

sigh 

swallow 

wield 

mete 

sleep 

sweep 

worth  (be) 

milk 

slip 

thrash 

wreak 

mourn 

slit 

throng 

(  wreathe  > 

quell 

smoke 

tug  (draw) 

\  writhe    j" 

quench 

sneak 

wade  (go) 

yell 

reap 
reek 

spew 
spurn 

walk 
wash 

yield 

70.  A  few  of  the  most  common  errors  in  the 

conjugation  of  the  mote  irregular  verbs,  whether  old 
or  new,  may  be  noted. 

The  chief  misleading  circumstance  is  that  in  the  new  verbs 
we  are  habituated  to  the  identity  of  form  of  the  past  tense  and 
the  past  participle,  whence  we  are  apt  to  apply  the  same  rule 
to  the  old  verbs.  '  The  letter  was  wrote  (for  written] ' ;  '  the 
wine  was  drank  (for  drunk)';  'he  has  broke  (broken)  the  win- 
dow'; 'I  have  much  mistook  your  passion';  'I  have  already 
chose  (chosen)  my  officer '.  '  I  have  struck '  is  now  in  use  foi  the 
ancient  form,  *  I  have  stricken '.  '  I  had  neither  ate  nor  drank ' 
should  be  '  eaten  nor  drunk ';  '  and  now  the  years  a  numerous 
train  have  ran '  (for  run). 

There  is  a  confusion  between  the  verbs  '  lay '  and  '  lie '.  "We 
often  see  such  errors  as  '  the  book  lays  (for  lies)  on  the  table ' ; 
'let  it  to/'  (for  lie). 

In  poetry  especially  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  confound 
the  past  tense  and  the  past  participle :  '  I  begun '  (for  began), 
'  the  latest  minstrel  sung '. 

Technical  language  retains  older  forms:  'the  charge  was 
found  proven '  (the  ordinary  p.  part,  being  '  proved '). 


DERIVATION. 


SOURCES  OF  ENGLISH  WORDS. 

I.  The  English  Vocabulary  has  drawn 
words  from  many  languages ;  especially  from 
Latin,  directly  or  indirectly. 

The  Grammar  of  our  language  is  exclusively 
native. 

In  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  Britain  was  in- 
vaded from  the  country  that  now  forms  Denmark  and  the 
North-west  of  Germany  by  certain  tribes  under  the  names  of 
Jutes,  Angles,  and  Saxons.  The  year  449  is  assigned  as  the 
date  of  the  landing  of  the  Jutes  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  in  Kent, 
under  Hengist  and  Horsa.  Other  invasions  followed  ;  and  in 
the  course  of  a  hundred  years  the  Jutes,  Saxons,  and  Angles 
were  established  over  the  greater  part  of  England.  There  were 
different  dialects  spoken  among  these  several  tribes,  although 
they  were  closely  allied  to  each  other.  The  early  compositions 
that  have  come  down  to  us  nearly  all  exemplify  one  dialect — 
the  dialect  of  the  western  counties.  A  few  fragments  illustrate 
the  dialectical  peculiarities  of  the  counties  of  the  North.  In 
the  midland  counties  there  was  yet  a  third  dialect ;  and  from 
this  the  modern  English  of  literature  has  more  directly  de- 
scended. 

As  the  Angles  or  English  established  the  political  superiority 
of  their  name,  so  the  common  term  for  the  language  of  the 
Teutonic  conquerors  was  English.  Taking  together  the  contri- 
butions of  all  the  united  tribes,  we  assume  these  as  the  basis  of 
the  present  English  tongue. 

The  other  great  element  is  the  Roman,  by  which  is  meant  the 
aggregate  of  English  words  drawn  from  the  Latin  language,  but 
derived  by  tie  for  the  most  part  through  the  French.  The  early 
English  and  Latin  together  constitute  the  mass  of  our  vocabulary. 

The  remaining  constituents  are  :  words  from  languages  be- 
longing to  the  common  stock  called  Teutonic,  of  which  English 
is  a  member — Dutch,  German,  and  Scandinavian  ;  words  from 
the  Keltic  languages  spoken  in  Britain  before  the  English  con- 
quest— Welsh  and  Gaelic  ;  words  from  the  Greek  ;  and  words 
from  the  languages  of  distant  countries  connected  with  us  by 
colonisation,  trade,  &c. 


204 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES    OF    WORDS. 


2.  The  Classical  element  of  our  language,  by 
which  is  meant  the  Latin,  together   with  the  Greek, 
was  introduced  at  different  periods. 

3.  I.  During  the  Roman  occupation  of  the 
island,  between  A.D.  43  and  A.D.  410. 

The  words  that  remain  from  this  period  are  chiefly 
local  names  connected  with  military  stations. 

Castra  (a camp) gi ves  'Lancaster',  'Gloucester',  'Winchester', 
'Exeter',  &c. 

Colonia  (a  Roman  settlement) :  '  Lincoln  '. 

Fossa  (a  trench)  :   '  Fossway ',  '  Fosbrook  ',  '  Fossbury '. 

Portus  (a  harbour)  :  '  port ',  '  Portsmouth  ',  '  Porchester '. 

Strata  (paved  road)  :   '  Stratford  ',  '  Streatham  ',  '  street ',  &c. 

Vallum  (a  palisaded  rampart)  :  '  bailiff ',  '  Old  Bailey  ', 
'Wallbury'. 

4.  II.  During  the  four  centuries  following 
the  introduction  of  Christianity,  A.D.  596. 

The  contributions  during  this  interval  include  many 
words  of  a  religious  character,  and  the  names  of 
institutions  and  natural  productions  introduced  by  the 
missionaries. 

ECCLESIASTICAL.     Latin. 


altar           cowl           disciple      mass 

pall            saint 

•chalice       creed          feast           offer 

porch         shrine 

;  cloister      cross          font            pagan 

preach        sacrament 

Greek. 

alms           bishop        clerk          hymn 

monk         psalter 

.angel          canon         deacon        martyr 

priest          stole 

.apostle       church       heretic       minister 

psalm         synod 

NATURAL  OBJECTS.     Latin. 

;beet                    fig                       millet 

pine 

'box                     laurel                  mule 

pumice 

cedar                  lettuce                oyster 

rue 

chalk                  lily                     palm 

tiger 

cherry                 lion                     pard 

trout 

cucumber           mallow               pea-cocfc 

turtle 

elm                     marble                pearl 

vulture 

Greek. 

agate                           crystal 

phoenix 

anise                             hellebore 

sponge 

camel                           myrrh 

sycamore 

INTRODUCTION    OP   CLASSICAL   WORDS. 


205 


acid                chancellor 

ell                 nurse            rule 

anchor           chest 

empire           ounce            sack 

ark                circle 

fever              palace            senate 

axle                city 

fork                plant              spnde 

belt                cook 

gem               plume            table 

bench,            coulter 

grade             pound           temple 

bile                crisp 

mile               prone             title 

'candle           crest 

mortar          provost         tunic 

capital           crown 

muscle          purple           verse 

Greek. 

cymbal 

metre                          rheum 

epistle 

philosopher                 school 

giant 

plaster                         theatre 

The  words  *  baptize  ', 

'  synagogue  ',  '  disciple  ',  '  resurrection', 

'  parable  ',  '  repentance 

',  and  many  others  superseded  names  of 

native  origin  for  the  same  things. 

5.  III.  The  great  accession  of  Latin  words 
took  place  subsequent  to  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, forming  what  is  called  the  Norman-French 
element  of  our  Language.* 

The  Normans  gave  the  names  pertaining  to  feudal- 

*  '  Tbe  Normans  were  originally  Scandinavians,  who  settled  in  France 
as  their  brethren  had  done  in  England.  In  912,  Charles  III.  ceded  to 
them  the  province  called  Normandy  after  them.  Here  they  came  into 
, contact  with  a  people  speaking  a  language  derived  from  the  Latin,  and. 
like  the  Franks  and  the  other  barbarian  invaders  of  Gaul,  Italy,  and 
.Spain,  they  gradually  ceased  to  use  their  own  Scandinavian  tongue,  and 
adopted  the  language  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of  their  new  home. 
This  language  has  obtained  the  name  of  French,  from  the  Franks,  who 
conquered  Gaul  in  the  fifth  century,  and,  like  the  Italian,  Spanish,  and 
other  languages  derived  from  the  Latin,  is  frequently  called  a  Romance 
language,  to  commemorate  its  Roman  origin.  The  first  introduction  of 
French  into  England  dates  from  the  time  of  the  lat^r  Saxon  kings. 
Ethelred  II.  married  Emma,  daughter  of  Richard,  Duke  of  Normandy  ; 
and  his  son,  Edward  the  Confessor,  who  was  brought  up  at  the  Norman 
court,  and  spoke  the  French  language,  gave  great  offence  to  his  English 
subjects  by  his  partiality  for  this  tongue,  and  by  his  introducing  French 
ecclesiastics  into  the  kingdom.  But  the  important  event,  which  firmly 
planted  the  French  language  in  England,  was  the  conquest  of  the 
country  by  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  in  the  year  10(56.  For  two 
centuries  French  was  the  language  of  the  English  court ;  Norman 
settlers,  speaking  French,  were  spread  over  the  country,  and  filled  all 
the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  posts  ;  and  French  was  spoken  in  the  courts 
of  law  and  taught  in  the  schools.  In  this  way  a  large  mass  of  the 
population  must  have  become  acquainted  with  French  ;  and  a  very  great 
number  of  French  words  was  gradually  introduced  into  the  English 
language  '.— {.Marsh's  Lectures,  II.) 


206 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES   OF  WORDS. 


ism,  war,  law,  and  the  chase,  as  well  as  additions 
to  the  general  vocabulary. 

Feudalism  and  ivar. 


aid 

buckler 

guardian 

mail 

trumpet 

armour 

castle 

hauberk 

peer 

truncheon 

array 

champion 

harness 

relief 

vassal 

assault 

chivalry 

herald 

scutage 

vizor 

banner 

dower 

homage 

scutcheon 

war 

baron 

esquire 

joust 

tallage 

ward 

battle' 

fealty 

lance 

tenant 

warden 

Law. 

advocate 

case 

felony 

paramount 

statute 

approver 

contract 

judge 

plaint 

sue 

arrest 

estate 

justice 

plea 

suit 

assize 

fee 

larceny 

sentence 

surety 

The  Chase. 

bay 

couple  (v), 

forest 

quarry 

tiercel 

brace 

covert 

leash 

reclaim 

venison 

chase 

falconer 

mew 

sport 

verderer 

But  in  addition  to  the  names  on  these  special  subjects,  many 
hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  words  of  French  origin  were  in- 
corporated with  the  general  vocabulary  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  centuries.  In  Lay  am  on,  in  Chaucer,  in  Wyclifie,  the 
acquisition  of  French  words  is  seen  going  on. 

Few  words  seem  to  have  been  derived  at  this  period  from  the 
i  Latin  directly.  It  cannot,  however,  in  all  cases  be  known 
whether  words  from  the  Latin  have  passed  through  the  French  ; 
but  nouns  in  '  our  '  (ardowr),  '  ier '  (cavalier),  '  chre '  (sepulchre), 
*  eer '  (auctioneer),  adjectives  in  '  que '  (unique),  and  words 
beginning  with  '  counter  ',  '  pur ',  and  '  sur '  (counteract, 
purpose,  surprise),  are  of  this  class.  And,  generally  speaking, 
when  words  of  classical  origin  are  greatly  altered  in  the  English 
spelling,  they  have  not  come  directly  from  the  Latin  ;  as 
'reason'  (Fr.  raison,  Lat.  rationem),  'journal'  (Fr.  journal, 
Lat.  diurnalis),  '  ally  '  (Fr.  allier,  Lat.  allegare),  '  accomplice ' 
(Fr.  complice,  Lat.  complex),  'beauty'  (Fr.  beaute,  Lat.  bellus), 
'obey'  (Fr.  obe'ir,  Lat.  obedire,  from  audire).* 

6.  IV.  After  the  Revival  of  Learning,  many 
words  were  taken  directly  from  the  Latin,  and  a  smaller 
number  from  the  Greek. 

The  greater  number  of  words  bearing  evidence  of  being  obtained 
directly  from  the  Latin,  have  been  introduced  since  the  revival 
of  letters  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

*  Angus  on  the  English  Language,  p,  10. 


EFFECTS   OP    THE   REVIVAL   OP   LEARNING. 


207 


A  few  are  selected  by  way  of  specimen  :  — 

abdicate 

adhere 

beatify 

cardinal 

cogitate 

abhor 

admire 

benevolence  case 

command 

abject 

adopt 

biennal 

cause 

council 

abjure 

affirm 

biped 

celebrate 

commit 

abnegate 

agent 

calamity 

celestial 

common 

abominate 

aggravate 

callous 

chain 

compassion 

absent 

alacrity 

camp 

chance 

complacent 

accelerate 

allocate 

cant 

charity 

compose  * 

accede 

alternate 

capillary 

circumference 

concord 

address 

announce 

carbon 

circle 

confess,  &c. 

Our  abstract  nouns  ending  in  y  and  ion — a  pretty  numerous 
class — are  very  slightly  altered  from  the  Latin  original : 
'calamity'  (calamita-tem) ;  'compassion'  (compassio-nem).  They 
follow  the  forms  of  the  earlier  derivation  of  these  through 
French. 

The  diffusion  of  Latin  words  in  English  is  most  comprehen- 
sively seen  by  examining  a  list  of  Latin  roots,  and  noting  their 
respective  prevalence  in  the  language.  The  following  are  a  few 
of  the  best  known  :— 


Verbs  : 

ago  facio  pendeo  scribo 

cado  fero  plico  sentid 

cerno  gen-  pono  sequor 

claudo  habeo  porto  servo 

credo  jaceo  premo  solvo 

curro  Jungo  probo  specio 

dico  lego  pungo  spiro 

do  levo  puto  statuo 

duco  mitto  qusero  sto 

eo  moneo  rego  struo 

esse  nascor  salio  sumo 

Nouns: 

anima  cura  jus  munus 

caput  forma  lex  nomen 

cor  gratia  mantis  pars 

Adjectives  : 

sequus  firmus 

alter  fortis 

bonus  gravis 

The  number  of  Greek  roots  is  smaller,  but  some  of  them  are 
fruitful  of  compounds.     Conspicuous  examples  are  : 
ago  (to  lead)                demos  (the  people)     logos  (speech) 
archo  (to  begin)         grapho  (to  write)        ode  (a  song) 
cycles  (a  circle)          nudor  (water)  pan  (all) 


magnus 

malus 

medius 


tango 

tendo 

teneo 

traho 

venio 

verto 

video 

voco 

volvo 


signum 
tempus 
testis 


primus 
similis 
unus 


208  DERIVATION. — SOURCES   OF   WORDS. 

pathos  (feeling)  polls  (a  city)  tithemi  (to  place) 

phaiuo    (to  show,  ap-    poieo  (to  make)  topos  (a  place) 

pear)  scoped  (to  see)  zoon  (an  animal) 

phileo  (to  love)  techne  (art)  &c. 

Of  the  words  derived  from  these  roots,  the  following  are  a  few 
examples  :— demagogue,  archaeology,  hydrography,  cyclopaedia, 
melody,  pantheon,  sympathy,  phenomenon,  telescope,  technical, 
hypothesis,  topography,  zoology. 

4  The  importance  of  these  roots  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  from 
pono  and  positum  we  have  in  English  two  hundred  and  fifty  words  ;  from 
plico,  two  hundred  ;  from  fero  and  latum,  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight ; 
from  specio,  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  ;  from  nitto  and  rnissum,  one 
hundred  and  seventy-four  ;  from  tenec  and  tentum,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight ;  from  capio  and  captum,  one  hundred  and  ninety -seven  ;  from 
tendo  and  tensum,  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  ;  from  duco  and  ductum,  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six.  Lo'jos  gives  us  one  hundred  and  fifty-six ; 
graphein,  one  hundred  and  fifty -two.  These  twelve  words,  therefore, 
enter  into  the  composition  of  nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred  English 
•words.  One  hundred  and  Jifty-four  Greek  aud  Latin  primitives  yield 
nearly  thirteen  thousand  words.'-  (Angus,  English  Language,  p.  46.) 

A  great  many  Latin  and  Greek  words  are  still  imperfectly  in- 
corporated in  the  language.  All  the  nouns  that  make  the  plural 
according  to  classical  forms,  and  not  according  to  the  English 
form,  are  of  this  kind. 

The  demands  of  science,  and  even  of  industry  and  the  common 
arts,  lead  to  the  unceasing  introduction  of  new  classical 

words  :  telegraph,  microphone,  telephone,  bicycle,  photography, 
locomotive,  terminus,  caloric,  basic,  colloid,  aeronaut,  diagnosis, 
amalgam,  cataclysm,  onomatopoeia,  &c. 

It  would  form  a  useful  exercise  to  note  and  compare  words 
that  have  come  directly,  and  words  that  have  come  indirectly 
through  French,  from  Latin  or  Greek.  For  example  :  '  aggra- 
vate, aggrieve';  'benediction,  benison';  'blaspheme,  blame'; 
'captive,  caitiff';  'diurnal,  journal';  'fact,  feat';  'faction, 
fashion';  'fragile,  frail';  'gaud,  jewel,  joy';  'juncture,  jointure'; 
'loyal,  royal,  legal,  regal ';  'major,  mayor';  'nutriment, - 
nourishment';  'phantasy,  fancy';  'pedestrian,  pioneer';  'pro- 
vidence, purveyance,  prudence';  'sequel,  suit';  'species,  spice'; 
'superficies,  surface';  'supreme,  sovereign';  'tradition,  trea- 
son'; &c. 

7.  Keltic  dialects  existed  at  an  early  period,  and 
still  partly  exist  in  Britain. 

The  Keltic  dialects  now  remaining  are  the  Welsh, 
Gaelic,  Manx,  and  Irish. 

One  large  class  of  names  derived  from  them  are 
names  of  places. 


KELTIC   INFLUENCE.  209' 

Rivers: — Clyde,  Don  (Doon,  Devon,  Tyne,  Teign,  Tone),  Dee, 
Thames,  Avon,  Stour,  Severn,  Trent,  Esk  (Usk,  Exe,  Wash, 
Ouse),  Leven,  Wye,  the  Tors  (Derby  and  Devon). 

Hills :— Malvern,  Meudip,  Cheviot,  Chiltern,  Grampian,  &c. 
Islands  : — Wight,  Man,  -A mm,  Bute,  Mull. 

Counties: — Kent,  Devon,  Glamorgan,  Dor-set,  Dnr-ham, 
Wilt-s. 

Towns: — Liver-pool,  Carlisle,  Penzance,  Peel;  Pen-rith,  Car- 
diff, Llandaff.* 

Among  Keltic  names  of  places  we  are  to  include  those  con- 
taining the  following  elements : 

Aber  (mouth  of  river) :  Aberdeen,  Aberbrothwick  (Arbroath), 
Aberwick  (Berwick),  Aberystwith. 

Al  (white) :  Albyn,  Allan,  Lune. 

Aid,  Aird  (high) :  Ardrossan,  Arran  ;  Dysart,  Lizard. 

Ath  (ford) :  Athlone.    . 

Audi,  auchin  (field)  :  Auchmull,  Auchinleck  ;  Aughrim. 

All chter  (height):  Auchterarder,  Auchtergaven,  Auchterless. 

Bal,  Lally  (village)  :  Balgownie,  Ballymahon. 

Bala  (issue  of  river  from  lake)  :  Bala,  Balloch. 

Ban  (white)  :  Bandon,  Banna. 

Beg  (little)  :  Ballybeg,  Killybegs. 

Ben,  or  Pen  (head,  mountain) :  Benlomond,  Pendleton, 
Penmaenmawr,  Peutland. 

Blair  (field,  clear  of  wood) :  Blairgowrie,  Blair  Athole. 

Bottom  (valley) :  common  in  Sussex,  and  in  personal  names. 

Brae  (billy  rough  piece  of  land)  :  Braemar. 

Caer,  Car  (fort,  town) :  Caerleon,  Cardiff,  Cardow 

Cain  (white)  :  Ken,  Kenuet. 

Cairn  (heap  of  stones,  rocky  hill) :  Cairnbanno,  Cairngorm. 

Cam  (crooked) :  Cambeck,  Cambuskenneth. 

Cefn  (back,  chine]  :  Chevin,  Cheviot,  Keynton. 

Coed  (wood)  :  Cotswold,  Chatmoss 

Combe,  comp  (hollow  or  bent  side  of  a  hill) :  Compton, 
Ilfracombe,  Melcombe,  Wycombe. 

Craig,  Carrick,  crick  (rock,  crag) :  Craigdam,  Carrick- 
fergu.s,  (Jricklade. 

Cul  (back  or  hind  part)  :  Culdaff,  Culross. 

Dal,  dol  (plain)  :  Dalkeith,  Dairy,  Dolgelly. 

Dim  (black)  :  Douglas,  Diggles,  Dublin,  Cardow,  Tomdow. 

Don  (water) :  Bandon.     (See  also  above  :  Rivers.) 

Dour  (water) :  Darent,  Dart,  Darwin,  Derwent. 

Drum  (ridge)  :  Dromore,  Dundrum,  Tyndrum. 

Dun  (hill)  :  Dunblane,  Dunkeld,  Dumbarton,  the  Downs, 
Suowdoa. 

*  Adams  on  the  English  Language. 


210  DERIVATION. — SOURCES  OF   WORDS, 

Esk  (water,  current)  :  Esker,  Esthwaite,  Ashbourne,  Ease- 
burn,  I  sis.     (See  also  above  :  Rivers.} 

Fell  (hill) :  Carterfell,  Scafell,  SnafelL 

Garw  (rough)  :  Garry,  Yarrow. 

Glen,  glyn  (narrow  valley) :  Glencoe,  Glenshee,  Glynneath. 

Gonn  (blue)  :  Cairngorm. 

Gwent  (plain)  :  Nantglyn,  Winchester. 

Inch,   Ennis   (island)  :   Inchcolm,  Inehkeith,  Enniskillen. 

Inver  (mouth  of  river,  laud  fit  for  tillage)  :  Inverness. 

Ken,   Kin   (head)  :  Kenmare,   Kenmore,   Kent,    Kinnaird, 
Kinross,  Cantire. 

Kill  (cell,  chapel,  burying-ground)  :  Kilmarnock,  Kilsyth, 
Icolmkill. 

Lin  (deep  pool) :  Linlithgow,  Dublin,  Roslin. 

Lis  (mound)  :  Lismore. 

Llann  (church) :  Llandaff. 

Magh  (plain)  :  Maynooth,  Armagh, 

Mor  (great)  :  Benmore. 

Mor  (sea)  :  Moray,  Glamorgan 

Rath  (mound)  :  Rathlin. 

Kin  (point)  :  Penrhyn,  Rins  (of  Galloway). 

Bos  (promontory) :  Ross,  Kinross,  Melro'se,  RoseneatK 

Strath  (broad  valley) :  Strathmore,  Strathspey. 

^am  (spreading,  broad)  :  Tamar,  Thames. 

*  (town) :  Coventry,  Oswestry. 
,  y  (water) :  Conway,  Medway,  Solway.* 

The  words  in  the  general  vocabulary  derived  from  the  Keltic 
dialects  are  given  in  the  Appendix  I. 

8.  Our  intercourse  with  the  Danes  and  other  nor- 
thern nations  has  brought  us  a  considerable  number  of 
Scandinavian  words. 

These  are  chiefly  names  of  places  and  of 
persons. 

The  Scandinavian  nations  are  the  Icelanders,  Danes,  ^ISTor-- 
wegians,  and  Swedes.  The  oldest  Scandinavian  language  is  the 
Old  Norse  of  Norway,  now  spoken  with  little  alteration  in 
Iceland.  The  Danish  invasions  of  Great  Britain  have  left  us 
a  number  of  Scandinavian  words.  In  the  counties  north  of  tl.e 
Wash  and  the  Mersey  many  of  the  names  of  places  are  from 
this  source. 

*  Angus  on  the  English  Language,  p.  18.  Se«  also  Chambors's  Exercises 
IB  Etymology. 


SCANDINAVIAN   INFLUENCE.  211 

A.  ay,  ea,  ey,  oe  (island) :  Staffa,  Cumbray,  Chelsea, 
Anglesey,  Orkney,  Faroe. 

A,  ea,  ey  (water,  river)  :  Greta,  "Waveney. 

Ark  (temple)  :  Arkholm. 

Beck,  batch  (brook)  :  Caldbeck,  Wansbeck,  Snailbatch. 

Brek  (steep)  :  Norbrek. 

By  (Norse  byr,  farm,  village)  :  Derby,  Grimsby,  Netherbyres, 
Netherby. 

Dale  (valley)  :  Borrowdale,  Tweeddale,  Arundel, 

Dan  (Dane)  :  Danby. 

Den,  Dean  (hollow  valley):  Hawthornden,  Tenterden, 
Southdean. 

Ding,  thing  (meeting-place)  :  Dingwall. 

Fiord  (inlet)  :  Milford,  Seaford,  Waterford. 

Fleet  (flood)  :  Ebbsfleet,  Northfleet,  Purfleet 

Force  (fors,  a  waterfall)  :  Mickleforce. 

Garth  (yard,  enclosure) :  Applegarth,  Dalegarth,  Dnrmgarth, 

Gate  (passage,  way)  :  Gallowgate,  Margate,  Reigate. 

Gil  (narrow  cleft  in  side  of  valley)  :  Ormesgill.  Frequent 
in  Iceland. 

Holm  (island  in  lake  or  river ;  plain  near  river) :  Arkholm, 
Flatholm,  Langholm. 

Kell  (spring)  :  Kelby. 

Kirk  (church)  :  Laurencekirk,  Ladykirk. 

Lax  (salmon)  :  Laxay,  Laxford,  Laxweir. 

NeSS  (headland)  :  Bowness,  Caithness. 

Scale  (shealing)  :  Portinscale,  Shields,  Galashiela. 

Scar  (cliff)  :  Scarborough,  the  Skerries. 

Scaw  (wood)  :  ScawfelL 

Skip  (ship)  :  Skipwith,  Skipton. 

Ster  (place)  :  Lybster,  Ulbster,  Ulster. 

Slither  (south)  :  Sutherland. 

Tarn  (mountain  lake)  :  Tarnsyke. 

Thorpe,  Throp  (village)  :  Raveusthorpe,  Woolthorpe,  Hey- 
throp. 

Thwaite  (piece  of  land)  :  Crosthwaite. 

Toft  (small  field)  :  Lowcstoft. 

Wick,  wig,  wich  (Norse  vikt  creek,  bay) :  Ipswich, 
Sandwich. 

With  (wood)  :  Langwith. 

The  termination  '  son  '  appended  to  names  is  Norse  :  '  Swain- 
son ',  'Ericson'.  '  Ulf '  or  'Ulph',  found  in  proper  names,  is 
Norse  for  'wolf', 

The  Scandinavian  words  in  the  general  vocabulary  are  given 
in  the  Appendix  II.  * 


212 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES   OF   WORDS. 


9.  Various  other  members  of  the  Teutonic 
Stock  of  languages  (to  which  English  belongs)  have 
contributed  words  to  the  English  vocabulary. 

It  happens  that  a  certain  number  of  English  words  are  not 
found  in  early  English  writings,  but  occur  in  Dutch,  German, 
Flemish,  &c.  We  thence  infer  that  such  words  have  been 
derived  from  those  languages,  although  it  is  also  possible  that 
they  may  have  existed  in  ancient  English  dialects,  as  spoken, 
if  not  as  written,  or  that  they  may  belong  in  origin  to  a  period 
when  English  and  these  other  languages  had  not  yet  branched 
off  from  the  common  stock.  We  do  not  know  the  history  of 
the  actual  introduction  of  all  our  foreign  words. 

The  words  derived  from  the  other  Teutonic  languages  are 
given  in  the  Appendix  III. 

10.  Words  introduced  from  the  French,  and  more 
or  less  perfectly  assimilated,  have  reference  to  various 
subjects : 

Wax: 


aide-de-camp 

emeute 

materiel 

retreat 

bayonet 

epaulet 

melee 

reveille 

bivouac 

fusee 

mitrailleuse 

ruse 

casern 

glacis 

mobilise 

scarp 

chevalier 

hors-de-combat           parley 

sortie 

cordon 

intern 

parole 

squad 

corps 

manoeuvre 

picquet 

tirade 

elan 

marque  (lettre 

de)      redan 

tirailleur 

Literature,  art,  and  affairs  : 

aper9u 
attache 

critique 
cue 

laissez  faire 
mise-en-scene 

programme 
redaction 

ballet 

debut 

naivete" 

regime 

belles  lettres 

denouement 

nom  de  plume 

renaissance 

brochure 

doctrinaire 

parliament 

resume 

bureau 

encore 

parvenu 

role 

clef 

esprit 

persiflage 

rondeau 

clique 

facade 

personnel 

routine 

connoisseur 

feuilleton 

portfolio 

savant 

coup  d'etat 

finesse 

portrait 

tapis 

coupon 
crayon 

hautboy 
jeu  d'esprit 

pourparler 
precis 

troubadour 
vers  de  societe" 

Fashion,  manners,  and  pleasure: 

ilr.mode  badinage  billet-doux       blase 

tmende  honorable      beau — belle         bizarre  bonbon 


TEUTONIC — FRENCH — ITALIAN.    ' 


213 


croquet 
distingue 
eau  de  Cologne 
e-clat 
e"lite     . 
ennui 
entree 
etiquette 

fete                      rechauffe 
foible                   recherche" 
mesalliance         roue* 
millionaire          rouleau 
le  beau  monde     sangfroid 
nonchalance        soiree 
outre                   ton 
pas                      valet 

modiste 
moire 
paletot 
pelisse 


queue  (cue) 
rouge 
surtout 
trousseau 


bonhomie 

bonne 

boudoir 

bouquet 

brusque 

carte 

chaise 

conge1 

Dress : 

blonde          chignon  crochet 

blouse  coif  deshabille 

bonnet         coiffure  fichu 

busk  crinoline  golosh 

Cookery :  biscuit,  dejeuner,  entries,  entremets,  fricasse*e, 
gout,  menu,  omelet,  ragout. 

Miscellaneous : 

accouchement 

apropos 

cafe 

canard 

chagrin 

chateau 

chef 

cortege 

11.    Italian    has    contributed  words  relating    to    music, 

sculpture,  and  painting,  with  some  miscellaneous  words. 


creche 
cul  de  sac 
debris 
d6p6t 
dernier  ressort 
devoir 
douceur 
douche 

e"clat 
entourage 
fracas 
immortelles 
lieu 
penchant 
prestige 
protege 

rapport 
reverie 
soi-disant 
souvenir 
tete-a-tete 
tic-douloureux 
vis-a-vis 
vogue 

akimbo 

alert 

allegro 

alto 

arquebusa 

askance 

askant 

attitude 

avast 

ballad 

bandit 

banquet 

bass 

bassoon 

bigot 

boa 

bravo 

breve 


brigand 

brigantine 

brocade 

broccoli 

bronze 

brush, 

bubble 

burlesque 

buzz 

cameo 

cannon 

canteen 

cape 

caper 

captain 

caravel  (a  kind  of 

ship) 
Caricature 


carmine 

carnival 

cartel 

cartoon 

casino 

cassock 

castle 

charlatan 

cicerone 

citadel 

company 

companion 

conceit 

concert 

cosset 

cozen 

crate 

crypt 


214 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES    OF    WORDS. 


cuff  (blow) 

grate  (noun) 

pigeon 

cupola 
curry  (dress  leather) 

grime 
grotto 

pilgrim 
pistol 

cutlass 

grotesque 

policy  (insurance) 

cnrtal  (axe) 
despatch 

group 
harlequin 

porcupine 
portico 

dilettante 

hazard 

profile 

dimity 
ditto 
domino 

indigo 
inveigle 
invojce 

punch  (stage  puppet) 
purl  (edging  for  lace) 
puttock 

dram 
embrocation 

list  (catalogue) 
lupines 

regatta 
scaramouch 

ferret 

lurch 

sketch 

fib 

luscious 

soprano 

fit  (an  attack  of  pain) 

macaroni 

stanza 

folio 

madrigal 

stiletto 

freak  (whiin) 

mere  (adj.) 

stucco 

gabion 

mongrel 

studio 

gallant 

motto 

tenor 

gambado 

nun 

terra-cotta 

garnet 

opera 

torso 

gazette 

paladin 

umbrella 

gondola 

palette 

virtuoso 

gorge 

parapet 

vista 

granite 

parasol 

volcano 

grapple 

pedestal 

zany 

12.  Spanish  :  — 

alcove 

castanets 

fumadoes 

alligator 

cigar 

gabardine 

almond 

clarion 

gala 

armada 

cochineal 

galleon 

armadillo 

cockatrice 

garbage 

barilla 

cork 

garble 

battledore 
bezel  (basil) 

corridor 
corsair 

grandee 
hidalgo 

booby 

crab  (a  windlass) 

jade 

borachio 

desperado 

javelin 

bustard 

discard 

.jennet 

calabash 
calenture 

dismay 
don 

jmita—  junto 
lawn  (cloth) 

caparison 

embargo 

levant  (v.) 

capon 

embarrass 

maroon 

caracal 

filigree 

molasses 

cargo 

filibuster 

mosquito 

cask  (casket,  casque) 

flotilla 

mulatto 

SPANISH — ARABIC — HEBREW — &0. 


215 


negro  pickaroou  pounce  (the  talon  of 

ninny  pillion  a  bird  of  prey) 

pail  pint  punctilio 

pamphlet  plate  (vessels  of  gold  savannah 

pawn  (chess  man)  and  silver)  sherry 

peccadillo  potato  tornado 

13.  Portuguese:— 

caste  fetish  porcelain 

cocoa  mandarin  palaver 

commodore  marmalade  verandah 

14.  The  following  words  are  traced  to  the  Walloon,  a  dialect 
poken  in  some  districts  in  the  north-east  of  France  and  in 
Belgium  :  fester,  funk,  harridan, 

15.  Swiss:— 

daw          dismal         fetlock        glimpse 

16.  Turkish:- 

bey  candy 

bosh  carviare 

caftan  chouse 

caique  divan 

17.  Arabic  :- 


horde 
janizary 
khan 
odalisque 


mart 


seraglio 

shagreen  (leather) 
simmer 


admiral 

attar  (otto) 

fakir 

minaret 

shrub 

alchemy 

azimuth 

felucca 

moonshee 

simoom 

alcohol 

borax 

firman 

moslem 

sirocco 

alcove 

cadi 

gazelle 

mosque 

sofa 

alembic 

caliph 

giraffe 

mufti 

sultan 

algebra 

camphor 

harem 

mummy 

syrup 

alkali 

carat 

hegira 

nadir 

tabor 

almanac 

chemistry 

jar  (bottle) 

naphtha 

talisman 

amber 

cipher 

julep 

nard            , 

tamarind 

amulet 

civet 

koran 

rice            .^,. 

tambourine 

arrack 

coffee 

lemon 

saffron 

tare 

arsenal 

cotton 

lute 

salaam 

tariff 

artichoke 
asa(fcetida) 

dragoman 
elixir 

magazine 
mameluke 

sandal  (wood) 
sheik 

vizier 
zenith 

assassin 

emir 

mattress 

sherbet  (drink) 

zero 

18.  Hebrew:— 

abbey  cherub  hosanna 

abbot  cinnamon  jubilee 

amen  ephod  leviathan 

behemoth  gehenna  manna 

cabal  hallelujah  pharisee 


sabbath 
sapphire 
'  seraph 
shekel 


216 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES   OP   WORD8, 


19.  Persian:— 

chess 


azure 

backsheesh 

balcony 

barbican 

bashaw 

bazaar 

caravan 

check-mate 


curry 

dervise 

emerald 

hookah 

howdah 

jackal 

jasmin 


kaffir 

lac  (resinous 
substance) 
lilac 
musk 
orange 
pasha 
saraband 


20.  Hindu  :— 


coolie 


muslin 

cowrie  nabob 

jungle  pagoda 

lac  (100, 000  rupees)  palanquin 

lascar  pariah 

loot  punch 

mullagatawny  pundit 


banian 
betel 

"buggy 

bungalow 
calico 
'cassowary 
chintz 


21.  Malay  :- 

a-muck  cajeput 

bamboo  gamboge  (Cambodia) 

bantam  (Java)      gingham  (Java) 

22.  Chinese  :— 

bohea  congou  hyson 

caddy  gong  nankeen 


•ash 

satrap 

scimitar 

shawl 

taffeta 

tiffin 

tulip 

turban 


rajah 
rupee 
sepoy 
shampoo 

sugar 
suttee 
toddy 


mango 

mangrove 
orang-outang 


pekoe 
«atin 


sago 


dugoag 


taol 

tea 


23.  Polynesian 

tattoo 


taboo 


kangaroo 


alpaca 
cannibal 


24.  American:— 

hurricane 

jerked  (beef)  (Chili) 

jaguar  (Braz.) 

jalap  (M.ex.) 

lama 

mahogany 

maize 


canoe 

cayman 

caoutchouc 

condor 

hammock 


25.  Names  of  Persons  :— 

braggadocio  hermetic 

cinchona  lazaretto 

davy  (safety  lamp)  macadamize 
galvanism  macintosh 

herculean  maudlin 


mocassin 

pampas 

skunk 

squaw 

tapioca 

tapir 

tobacco 


tomahawk 

tomato 

wampum 

wigwaui 

yam 


orrery 

ottoman 

pander 

philippic 

quixotic 


simony 
spencer 
stentorian 
tantalize 
&c. 


NATIVE    WORDS    DISCRIMINATED.  217 

26.  Names  of  Places  :— 


academy 
arras 
artesian 
bayonet 
currants  (Corinth) 
copper  (Cyprus) 
cambric  (Cambray) 

damask 
ermine  (Armenia.) 
guinea 
japan 
magnet 
milliner 
muslin  (Mussoul) 

parchment  (Perga- 
mos) 
peach  (Persia) 
spaniel  (Hispaniola) 
toledo 
worsted  ("Worstead) 
&c. 

27.  For  practical  purposes  it  is  useful  to  be  able  to 
discriminate  the    words   of   classical   origin 
from  those  belonging  originally  to  English. 

This  may  be  done  to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  help  of  a 
few  general  rules. 

28.  I.  Certain    divisions   of   the    parts    of 
speech  are  native  English  : 

The  pronouns.  Adjectives  :  pronominal,  numeral,  irregularly 
compared,  and  the  Articles.  Verbs  :  auxiliary  and  defective. 
Adverbs  :  the  simple  adverbs  of  place,  time,  and  cause  and 
effect.  The  prepositions.  The  conjunctions.  The  exceptions 
are  extremely  few  :  '  second ',  '  except ',  '  save ',  &c. 

29.  II.  All  words  undergoing  vowel  changes 
are  old  English. 

Nouns  forming  verbs:  '  bliss,  bless ';  *  blood,  bleed  '.  Nouns 
changing  vowel  in  the  plural :  '  man,  men ' ;  '  tooth,  teeth  '. 
;Adjectives  forming  nouns  :  '  long,  length  ',  '  strong,  strength  '. 
Verbs  :  the  old  or  strong  verbs  ;  the  new  verbs  making  vowel 
'changes:  'bereave,  bereft';  the  causative  verbs  formed  by 
vowel  changes  :  '  lie,  lay  '.  Vrords  modifying  the  final  con- 
sonant :  *  grass,  graze  '  ; "'  stick,  stitch  '. 

30.  III.  Most  words  with  distinctive  English 
endings  are  of  home  make. 

If  we  had  a  complete  list  of  the  Hybrids,  formed  by  joining 
English  roots  to  classical  endings,  or  the  converse,  such  a  list 
would  give  all  the  exceptions  to  this  rule.  These  words  are 
very  numerous.  The  following  are  examples  : — 

Classical  roots  with  English  endings  :  principal??/,  politely, 
roundfy,  beast/i/;  aptness,  correctness,  passivewess,  righteousness, 
nutaMM  ;  art/it?,  direful,  graceful,  grate/uZ,  peaceful ;  armless, 
&rtlcss,  cheerless,  motionless,  resistless,  useless,  viewless ; 


218  DERIVATION. — SOURCES    OP  WORDS. 

humoursowie,  juicy,  falsehood,  subscriber,  martyro'owt,  suretisfrip, 
monkish. 

English  words  with  Classical  endings : — shepherdess,  songstress, 
wondrows,  wittimm,  furtherance,  behaviour,  withdrawal, 
bearaWe. 

31.  IV.  Most  words  with  distinctive  English 
prefixes  are  of  home  make. 

Some  of  the  prefixes,  however,  are  ambiguous.  Thus  '  a ' 
and  '  in '  are  English,  Latin,  and  Greek  ;  '  mis  '  is  English  and 
Latin.  But  where  there  is  no  ambiguity,  we  may  presume  that 
an  English  prefix  betokens  an  English  word,  and  a  classical 
prefix  a  classical  word. 

The  unmistakable  English  prefixes  are  :  '  al ',  '  after  ',  '  be  ', 
'  for ',  '  ful ',  '  on  ',  '  over  ',  '  out ',  '  under  ',  '  up ',  '  with  '. 

When  we  find  words  commencing  with  the  prefixes  '  circum  ', 
'contra',  'extra',  'inter',  'ob',  '  omni ',  'prse',  'pro',  're', 
'  retro ',  *  super ',  we  may  almost  always  take  for  granted  that 
they  are  of  Latin  origin  :  when  we  find  '  cata  ',  '  epi ',  '  hyper  ', 
'hypo',  'pan',  'peri',  '  sym ',  we  may  infer  a  Greek  origin. 
Some  of  these  are  in  hardly  any  case  joined  with  English  roots. 

There  are  a  good  many  exceptions,  or  hybrids.  The  following 
are  a  few  : — because,  belabour,  besiege,  out-face,  prewarn, 
sublet,  superfine,  thorough-bass,  thorough-paced,  unchain, 
•unjust. 

When  we  meet  with  such  compounds  as  '  graceful ',  '  peace- 
ful',  we  ought  also  to  take  notice  that  these  roots — 'grace', 
'  peace ',  are  far  more  frequently  allied  with  classical  prefixes' 
and  endings  ;  as  '  gracious  ',  '  ingratitude  ',  '  ingratiate  ', 
4  gratify  ',  '  pacify  ',  '  appease  '.  If  it  is  the  habit  of  any  word 
to  contract  classical  alliances,  we  may  presume  that  it  is  classical, 
unless  it  is  recognised  as  a  hybrid. 

32.  V.  Most  words    of  one    syllable    are 
native  English  or  Teutonic. 

The  list  of  exceptions,  that  is  to  say,  of  words  of  one  syllable 
derived  from  the  Latin,  French,  or  Greek,  is  given  in  the 
Appendix  IV. 

33.  VI.  Most    words    of    more    than    one 
syllable  are  of  classical  origin. 

The  words  of  more  than  one  syllable  of  native  origin  almost 
all  occur  in  the  following  illustrations  of  the  things  denoted  by 
native  names.  ($§  35  and  following.)  A  tew  not  otherwise 


NATIVE   WORDS   DISCRIMINATED. 


219 


mentioned  are  here  subjoined : — behalf,  behest,  biestings, 
brustle,  caltrop,  chafer,  commark  (a  frontier),  dimple,  dwindle, 
harbinger,  hobnob,  holster,  nether,  slobber,  snattock,  staddle, 
utter. 

34.  VII.  Provincial  terms  are  to  be  assumed  as 
not  of  classical  origin. 

If  not  English,  they  are  either  Keltic  or  Teutonic. 

35.  The  things  denoted   by  native  terms 
are  to  a  great  extent  distinct  from  those 
denoted  by  names  of  classical  origin. 

36.  I.  From   native    sources  we   obtain   the 
names  connected  with  kindred,  home,  domestic 
life,  and  the  strong  natural  feelings  and  their 
expression  :— 


father 

mother 

husband 

wife 

friend 

kindred 


gaffer 

gammer 

home 

hearth 

roof 

fireside 


leman  (sweet- shelter 

heart)  ashes 

widow  embers 

neighbour       smoulder 
henchman       bed 


carle 


cradle 


swaddle 

pillow 

midwife 

kettle 

bolster 

mingle 

bellows 

bundle 

naked 

kitchen 

slumber 

early 

oven 

taper 

morrow 

hovel 

marrow 

errand 

threshold 

tidbit 

sunder 

tongs 

wallet 

bottom 

ladle 

wassail 

lumber 

flagon 

fiddle 

besom 

ewer 

welcome 

gossip 

bucket 

token 

riddle 

tippet 
breeches 


attire  : 
hat 
shirt 

feelings : 

harm  (lit.  grief)  wonder 
hunger  weary 

sorrow  bitter 

anger  tear 


drawers 
stockings 

Bmile 
blain 
blush 
laugh 


weeds 
shoes 


groan 
weep 
yearn 
burden 


37.  1 1 .  From  the  same  source  are  derived  the  names 
of  the  familiar  objects  of  sense,  and  the  familiar 
movements  of  moving  things  : — 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES   OF   WORDS. 


Natural  Objects,  <kc.t  Plants  and  Animals: 


sun 

morass             hollyhock 

godwit 

moon 
star 

stream             ivy 
land                 kernel 

goose 
hen 

welkin 

sea                   linden 

herring 

world 

billow             medlar 

hornet 

fire 

eddy                misletoe 

laverock 

water 

earth               mugwort 

linnet 

day 

dingle             nettle 

lobster 

night 
morn 

mildew             P°ppy 
brimstone        sallow 

louse 
maggot 

even 

iron                  sorrel 

marten 

twilight 

silver               teasel 

mouldwarp  (a  mole) 

light 

pearl                thistle 

mouse 

heat 
cold 

pebble              turnip 
acorn               walnut 

otter 
ousel  (a  blackbird) 

rain 

aspen               willow 

owlet 

snow 

apple               yarrow 

oyster 

storm 
wind 

barley              adder 
berry                barnacle 

peacock 
periwinkle  (whelk) 

thaw 

bramble           beaver 

raven 

frost 

blade                beetle 

reindeer 

cloud 

blossom            chafer 

ruddock  (a  redbreast) 

shower 

briar                chicken 

sparrow 

thunder 

bristle              cockle 

starling 

lightning 

cluster            culver  (a  dove) 

swallow 

weather 

daisy                 duck 

tadpole 

summer 

elder                emmet 

throstle  (the  thrush) 

winter 

elm                  eyry 

turtle 

harvest 

fennel              feather 

weasel 

hill 

hemlock          fish 

weevil  (an  insect) 

dale 

honey               fowl 

whelk 

wood 

holly                fox 

worm 

Names 

of  parts  of  the  body  : 

body 

whiskers          elbow 

sinew 

head 

throat               finger 

shank 

ear 

lungs               knuckle 

pimple 

eye 

weasand  (the   midriff 

wrinkle 

tongue 
neck 

windpipe)     liver 
bosom              navel 

tetter  (a  scab) 
sight 

lip 

nipple              belly   • 

touch 

chin 

heel                  bladder 

taste 

limb 

ham                  thumb 

heart 

hair 

hand                ankle 

smell 

nail 

ihoulder          bone 

flesh 

THINGS   DENOTED   BY   NATIVE   WORDS. 


221 


Familiar  actions  : 

hearken 

hinder 

leap 

learn 

linger 

listen 

rimple 

rinse 

rumple 

sit 

stand 

lie 

walk 

run 

leap 

stagger 

stride 

yawn 

gape 

wink 


answer 

behave 

bluster 

burrow 

clip 

defile 

elope 

fall 

fell 

fold 

gather 

gibber 

giggle 

glisten 

glitter 

gripe 

grope 

handle 

hang 

harry 


fly. 

swim 

creep 

crawl 

hobble 

follow 

bellow 

hollo 

jabber 

snivel 

stammer 

whisper 

whig 

whoop 

scatter 

scufflle 

shuffle 

smother 

spatter 

sprinkle 


straddle 

straggle 

swallow 

trundle 

tumble 

twinkle  (with 

the  eyes) 
wander 
welter 
wheeze 
whiff 
whimper 
whip 
whir 
whirl 
whisk 
whittle 
worry 
wrangle 
wrestle 


gnarled 
grisly 
grim 

handsome 
hard 
heavy 
lean 
A  few  of  the  mental  habits  and  characteristics 


barren 
black 
blue 
brinded  (streaked) 
brittle 
broad 
buxom 

callow 
comely 
dingy 
dwindle 
even 
garish 
ghastly 

bold 

busy 

chary 

cunning 

dizzy 

doughty 


earnest 

fickle 

frolic 

froward 

fulsome 

giddy 


dy 
ag 
idle 
leasing  (lies) 
merry 
nimble 


lukewarm 

narrow 

pretty 

rough 

sallow 

uncouth 

white 

silly 

sulky 

surly 

stalwart 

wheedle 

wicked 


But  for  states  of  the  mind  that  have  not  a  strong  outward 
expression,  the  native  vocabulary  is  very  scantily  supplied  ; 
such  as  the  various  modes  of  thought  and  intelligence.  '  Think', 
'  mind  ',  '  believe  ',  '  trust  ',  and  a  few  others  are  to  be  found, 
but  the  great  mass  of  words  for  the  mental  operations  are  of 
classical  origin. 

This  rule  may  be  otherwise  expressed  by  saying  that  the 
names  of  the  objective  world  are,  by  preference,  native  ;  of 
the  subjective  world,  by  preference,  classical. 


222 


DERIVATION. — SOURCES    OF   WORDS. 


38.  III.  The  kinds  of  Industry  practised  by 
our  ancestors  are  shown  by  the  names  that  have 
come  down  to  us. 

Thus  in  agriculture  and  its  allied  operations  : 


acre                  farm 

hedge               sickle 

bacon               farrow  (litter 

heifer               sow  (n.  and  v.) 

barm                    of  pigs) 

hen                   steer 

barn                 fen 

horse                stirrup 

barrow             fern 

hurdle              tallow 

boar                  field 

loaf                   tame 

braird              fodder 

mare                 thrash 

bread                furrow 

mattock           twibill 

bridle               gander 

meadow           udder 

bull                  garlic 

nettle               waggon 

calf                  goose 

orchard            wattle 

clover              grass 

ox                     weed 

cock                 grow 
cow                 halter 

pig                   wethei 
plough             wheat 

corn                 harrow 

rat                   whelp 

cud                  haulm 

reap                  whey 

ear  (v  and  n)  haw 

runner              winnow 

fallow              hay 

saddle              wither 

In  the  other  industrial  arts  : 

addice  (adze)   ferry 

needle                         staple 

angle  (to  fish)  furlong 

oakum                        swivel 

anvil                habergeon 
arrow               hammer 

peat                              target 
pier                             timber 

board  1             harbour 

raddle  (to  twist)         tower 

boat                 haven 

riddle  (sieve)     '          turf 

coal                  hauberk 

scavenger                    wear 

cobble  (a  boat)  ladder 
distaff              leather 

sempster                     weave 
shackle                        web 

earn                 level 

shuttle                         wharf 

fathom            madder 

slaughter                    wheel 

*elly                 nail 

shambles                     whittle 

Bearing  more  particularly  upon  trade  and  commerce  ;  borrow, 
buy,  chapman,  cheap,  dear,  firkin,  handsel,  narket,  monger, 
farthing,  pedlar,  penny,  shilling,  reckon,  sell. 

39.  IV.  The  civil  and  religious  Institutions 
of  our  ancestors  are  indicated  in  their  language : 
alderman         bury  fetter  hustings 

beadle  corsnead  (in  trial        fiend  lady 

bode  by  ordeal)  gallows  lord 

borough  earl  hamlet  murder 


THINGS    DENOTED   BY    NATIVE   WORDS.  223 

ordeal  Friday  heathen  whitsuntide 

sheriff  Saturday  heaven  witch 

Sunday  caster  king  witness 

Monday  gospel  lammaa  worship 

Tuesday  hallow  steeple  yeoman 

Wednesday  holy  steward  wapentake 

Thursday  holiday  thrall  queen 

40.  V.   National    Proverbs   are  naturally   ex- 
pressed in  words  derived  from  our  primitive  speech. 

41.  VI.  The  language  of  invective,  contempt, 
pleasantry,  humour,  satire,  and  colloquial  wit 

is  home  made. 

The  strong  terms,  'curse',  'darling',  'dastard',  'fangle', 
'lazy',  'nidget'  (a  coward),  'rascal',  'shabby',  'slut',  'sly', 
'  ugly ',  are  of  native  growth. 

42.  VII.  The  particular  or  individual  objects 
of  nature,  as  opposed  to  the  general  or  abstract,  are 
named  by  native  words. 

This  is  merely  the  second  rule  in  another  aspect.  Thus  the 
specific  movements,  'creep',  'fly',  'run',  'walk',  &c.,  are 
English ;  but  the  general  idea  is  expressed  by  a  Latin  word — 
'motion'.  'Black',  'blue',  'green',  'red',  'yellow',  &c., 
are  English:  'colour' is  Latin.  'Buzz',  'growl',  'grunt',  'hiss', 
*  hum ',  'roar',  '  rustle  *,  '  sing ',  '  speak  ',  'squeak ',  '  whistle  ', 
&c. ,  are  English  :  '  sound  is  Latin.  So  while  specific  modes  of 
wrongdoing  are  English — '  kill ',  '  lie ',  '  murder ',  '  rob  ',  '  theft ', 
the  general  terms — '  crime  ',  '  injury ',  '  offence ',  are  Latin. 
The  special  numbers  are  English  :  the  general  word  '  number ' 
is  Latin. 

43.  These  rules  must  be  taken  with  some 
latitude,  and  are  not  to  be  employed  as  absolutely 
decisive  of  the  origin  of  any  given  word. 

For  although  the  more  familiar  objects  of  sense  and  of  the 
outer  world  are  described  by  English  names,  we  have  appropri- 
ated classical  names  to  add  to  our  means  of  expressing  the  same 
'things  ;  as  '  animal ',  '  beast ',  '  chapel ',  '  commerce  '.  '  country', 
'  district ',  '  face ',  '  family  ',  '  firmament ',  '  forest ',  '  furniture', 
'  garment ',  '  lake ',  '  minute  ',  '  mountain  ',  '  mutton ',  '  palace  ', 
'  people ',  '  plain ',  '  river  ',  '  season  ',  '  serpent ',  '  stomach  ', 
and  innumerable  others. 


224  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION   OF   WORDS. 

44.  Foreign  names  came  in  with  foreign 
objects  or  facts. 

It  has  been  seen  that  when  articles  or  occupations  were  im- 
ported from  other  nations,  the  names,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
came  too. 

45.  Native  words  are  seldom  general. 

A  few  of  our  own  Saxon  words  have  been  employed  as  terms 
of  the  highest  generality  ;  as  '  being ',  '  well-being ',  '  truth  ', 
'falsehood',  'will',  'feeling',  'good  ,  'evil',  'right',  'wrong'. 

This,  however,  is  rare.  We  might,  like  the  Germans,  have 
constrained  our  native  vocabulary  to  serve  for  general  and  ab- 
stract terms,  but  we  have  preferred  to  derive  these  from  the 
classical  sources.  We  also  in  many  instances  use  a  native  word 
and  also  the  corresponding  words  in  Greek  and  Latin  :  '  good ', 
'moral',  'ethical';  'one',  'unit',  'monad';  'truth',  'prin- 
ciple ',  '  axiom  ' ;  '  happiness  ',  '  felicity  ; '  '  glue ',  '  viscid', 
'  colloid '. 

In  all  such  cases  the  Latin  and  Greek  words  serve  to  indicate 
new  meanings  or  shades  of  meaning,  thereby  extending  our  voca- 
bulary. The  use  of  a  different  word  is  always  accompanied  with 
the  tendency  to  restrict  its  application  to  Some  particular  phase 
of  the  general  idea. 


COMPOSITION  OF  WORDS. 

I .  Most  of  the  words  of  the  language  are  compounds, 
The  process  of  composition  takes  place  in  two 
ways  :  first,  by  adding  to  the  simple  words  syllables-^ 
or  words,  called  prefixes,  and  suffixes  or  endings,  which  • 
may  or  may  not  have  an  independent  existence;  as| 
*  out-run ',  '  one-fy '  (only)  -y  and  secondly,  by  putting ' 
together  words  that  have  each  an  independent  meaning  ; , 
as  '  break-water ',  '  lion-hunter '. 

As  regards  the  first  process,  there  are  a  number  of 
recognised  prefixes  and  suffixes  habitually  employed  in 
forming  compound  words,  nearly  all  of  them  imparting 
a  definite  signification  to  the  compounds. 


NATIVE    PREFIXES.  225 

Prefixes. 

2.  English  Prefixes.— The  prefixes  of  native 
origin  used  for  all  purposes  may  be  enumerated  as 
follows : — 

a.  (!)  A  shortened  form  of  the  preposition    '  on ',    *  an '  : 
'  aback,  abed,  afield,  afoot,  alive,  aside,  ashore,  away  '. 
The  full  form  remains  in  '  ajient ',  '  anon  ',  *  anvil'* 
The  other  cases  are  much  less  important. 

(2)  a  (Gothic  MS),  'out  of ',   'from',   'away',   'up':  'aghast, 
ago,   alight,   arise,   arouse,  awake  '.     The  force  of  this  prefix 
naturally  becomes  merely  intensive. 

(3)  a,  0. E.  a  ( '  ever ',  '  always ',  *  aye ') :  '  aught'  ( —a-iviht}. 
This  a-  is  now  disguised  in  '  each  ',   '  either ',  '  ever  \  '  one  '- 

*  Ought '  (not  the  verb)  is  the  same  word  as  '  aught '. 

(4)  a  =  0.  E.  ge,   y,   i :    '  afford,  alike,   along  (of),  among, 
anough  (enough),  aware '.      *  Alike  '  and  '  among  '  were  also  in- 
fluenced by  '  on '  ('  an ',  '  a  '  :  a  (!)•)•     The  ge  of  the  past  part. 
\vas  often  modified  to  a- ;  still  a  not  uncommon  provincialism. 

(5)  a  (ohler  and),    'back':     'abide,    acknowledge,    again, 
against,    along '.      The  older  form   remains  less  abridged  in 

*  awiswer '  and  '  ambassador ' . 

(6)  a,  shortened  for  cet,   '  at '  :    '  agaze  '.      '  Afore  '  may  l^e 
either  O.E.  '  tetforan '  or  '  orcforan  '. 

*Af  before   the  infinitive   appears   in    'ado'.      (Compare 

*  affair ',  §  4,  under  ad). 

(7)  a,  shortened  from  of,  af,    '  off ',   '  from  '  :  '  odown  (0.  E, 
of  dune,  '  from  the  down  or  hill '),  afar  (=qffcor),  akin,  anew '. 

In  a  few  words,  it  is  intensive,  =  '  very ',    '  exceedingly  '  : 

*  acold,  ahungered,  ashamed,  athirst,  aweary  '. 

after  :  '  afternoon  ',  '  afterthought '. 

all  (all)  :  '  almighty  *,  '  alone  ',  '  although  ',  '  always '.  It  is 
obscured  in  '  as '  (al-so). 

at,  the  preposition  :  '  atone '. 

The  -<  falls  away  in  a  few  cases  ;  see  a  (6),  above.  The  a- 
is  dropt  in  '£wit',  (O.E.  aztwitan,  'to  reproach';  lit.  to  know 
(witan)  something  against  (cet)  ). 

be,  by,  the  prep,  '  by  ',  taken  as  such,  or  used  adverbially. 

1.  In  Nouns.      'jBelialf,  behest,  behoof ';  oftenest,  however, 
in  the  form  '  by  ', — '  Z>?/-name,  bystander,  byword  '. 

'j5?/-law',  or  '  bye-law ',  is  connected  by  some  with  the  Scan- 
dinavian by  ('hamlet ')  :  a  law  made  by  a  hamlet  or  township 
for  the  regulation  of  its  own  affairs. 

2.  In  Verbs,  '  be  '  retains  much  of  its  original  force  :  'around, 
about,   over,  upon,  t  ^ '  i   and  generally  expresses  the  fact  of 

15 


226  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

communicating  to  an  object  the  prominent  qualities  indicated 
by  the  other  part  of  the  compound. 

(1)  Be  +  noun  :  'fteeloud,  bedew,  befriend,  betroth',  &c., — 
all  transitive. 

In  one,  '  ftehead  ',  be  has  privative  force. 

(2)  Be  +  adjective  :    '  becalm,  bedim  '. 

(3)  Be  +  verb.      With  transitive  verbs,    the   sense  of  be  = 
'  about ',  *over ',  *  upon  ',  is  sometimes  very  distinct,  and  always 
to  some  degree  intensive  :  '  bedaub,  begird,  beset,   besmear,  be- 
sprinkle ;  behold,   beseech,   bestir,   bestow,  dedeck,   dedazzle '. 
The  meaning  of  the  new  verb  is  also  transitive. — With  intransi- 
tive verbs,    '  be '  still  maintains  the  same  sense,  and  sometimes 
renders  the  new  verb  transitive  :  '  bemoan,  bespeak,  bestride, 
bethink '.     At  other  times,  it  signifies  more  pointedly  direction 
towards  an  end,  and  the  new  verb  then  often  remains  intransi- 
tive :  '  become,  befall,  behove,  belong,  betake,  betide '. 

3.  In  Adverbs  (sometimes  becoming  prepositions  or  conjunc- 
tions) :  '  because,  before,  behind,  betimes,  between  '. 

Bul  (large)  :  '  bulrush  '. 

For  (O.K.  for- :  cp.  German  ver,  Lat.  per  and  pro),  'through, 
thoroughly ',  intensive  ;  then  the  contrary,  '  wroiigness,  per- 
version, privation,  prohibition'. 

Prefixed  to  verbs:  'forbear,  forbid,  for(e)fend,  forget,  for- 
give, for(e)go,  forlorn,  forsake,  forswear '. 

This  prefix  is  at  bottom  the  same  word  as  the  following,  'fore '. 

Fore  (0.  E.  fore  :  cp.  Germ,  vor,  Lat.  pro  and  pros) :  before, 
in  front,  previous. 

Nouns  :  '/oreground,  forehead  ;  forenoon  \ 

Verbs  :  '/orebode,  foreordain,  foresee,  forewarn  '. 

Forth:   '/oncoming'. 

Ful  (full)  :  'fulfill ;  full-blown,  fullgrown  '. 

Gain  (back,  against)  :   '  gainsay '. 

In,  im  (in,  into,  within)  :  '  inborn,  inbred,  income,  inland, 
inlay,  inside,  insight ' ;  '  imbed,  imbitter,  imbody,  imbrown, 
imbrue '. 

'  In,  im  '  has  sometimes  given  place  to  the  Romance  en,  em  : 
'  endear,  enkindle,  enliven,  enshroud,  entangle,  entrust,  en- 
twine '  ;  *  embed,  embitter,  embody,  embolden,  embosom,  em- 
bower '. 

The  force  of  the  prefix  is  frequently  intensive,  sometimes 
perhaps  (though  not  necessarily)  causative. 

Mis  (wrong,  ill,  failure) :  '  ?m'sbehave,  misgive,  mislay,  mis- 
lead, misname,  mistrust  ;  misdeed'. 

'  Mis '  is  joined  at  will  to  words  of  classical  origin :  '  misapply, 
miscall,  miscount,  misinterpret,  misplace '. 

But  in  certain  apparent  cases  of  this  nature,  the  '  mis '  is 
really  of  classical  origin.  (See  §  4,  under  mis). 


NATIVE    PREFIXES.  227 

Ne  (not)  :  '  naught,  nought,  not,  nay,  neither,  never,  none, 
nor '. 

Off  :  'offal  (=o^-fall),  offset,  offshoot,  offspring '.  See  modi- 
fied  forms  under  a  (7),  above. 

On  :   '  onlooker,  onset,  onslaught '. 

For  modified  forms  see  a  (1),  above ;  and  un  (3),  "below. 

Out  (O.E.  ut),  opposite  to  '  in  ' ;  '  beyond,  excelling  '.  '  Out- 
break,  outcast,  outfit,  outpour,  outside,  outhouse  ;  outdoor, 
outlaw  ;  outspread,  outstretch  ;  outbid,  outdo,  outlast,  outlive, 
outrun,  outvote '. 

Over  (0.  E.  qfer),  '  above,  beyond,  excess,  down  '.  '  Over- 
arch, overflow,  overhang,  overlap  ;  otwhear,  oversight ;  orer- 
board  ;  orercoat  ;  overdue,  overwise  ;  overdraw,  over-estimate, 
overload,  overwork  ;  overbear,  overthrow,  overturn '. 

Thorough,  '  from  side  to  side  ;  completely  '.  '  Thorough- 
fare  ;  thoroughbred,  thoroughpaced  '. 

To  (the,  this);   'to-day,  to-morrow,  to-night'. 

To  (the  prep. )  :  '  together '. 

To  (Germ,  zer,  Lat.  dis),  'asunder,  in  pieces',  was  veiy 
common  in  O.E.  'A  certain  woman  cast  a  piece  of  millstone 
upon  Abimelech's  head,  and  all  to  brake  his  skull '  (Judges 
ix.  53)  :  'all  (^altogether,  quite)  to  (in  pieces)  brake',  &c. 

Twi  (two)  :  '  ftiilight '. 

Un.  (1)  (O.E.  on-,  Gothic  and-,  Germ.  ent-)t  '  back;  reversal 
of  an  action '. 

'  Z7?ibind,  undo,  unfold,  unhand,  unhorse,  unlearn,  unsay '. 
With  verbs  of  classical  origin,  freely  :  '  unfix,  unnerve,  un- 
people, untune,  unyoke'. 

In  '  wdoose ',  the  prefix  is  intensive  (—'back',  'away'),  'loose* 
itself  implying  reversal.  (Cp.  the  cases  where  and-,  on,  has  be- 
come a;  above,  a  (5).). 

Un.  (2)  (O.E.  un),  not.  Nouns  :  '  unbelief,  unreason,  unrest, 
untruth,  un  wisdom  '. 

Adjectives  :  '  unfair,  unwise,  unknown,  unseen  '. 

Un.  (3)  (on) :  'unless,  until,  unto  '. 

Under,  below  ;  too  little  or  deficiency  ;  support.  '  Under- 
current,  undergrowth  ;  underground  ;  imderestimate,  undersell  ; 
underhand;  undergo,  understand,  undertake  '. 

Up  :  '  wpheave,  uphold,  uplift,  uproot ;  uproar,  upshot,  up- 
start ;  «jt?hill  ;  upland  '.  '  Upbraid  '. 

Wan  (root  of  '  wan,  wane,  want ',  &c.),  wanting.     Cp.  un. 

Our  only  remaining  example  is  '  wanton  '  =.  wan-towcn  or 
-togen,  l  untrained,  undisciplined,  wild ',  from  teon  (draw,  lead). 
There  were  many  in  O.E.  :  'wanhal '  (unhealthy)  ;  ' 
(wnhope,  despair). 

Wei,  well :  welfare,  well-being,  well-bred '. 


228  DERIVATION. COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

With  (against,  back ;  opposition)  :  withdraw,  withhold, 
withstand '. 

Sometimes  a  letter  has  been  prefixed  for  greater  ease  or  ful- 
ness of  pronunciation,  especially  s :  'scratch,  scream,  skip,  smelt, 
sneeze,  snip,  splash,  squabble,  squash,  squeamish,  squeeze, 
swear,  sword  '. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  letter  is  sometimes  dropt.  Gif  is  now 
'if ' ;  genoh  has  become  '  enough  ',  gelic,  '  alike  '  (see  a  (4)),  and 
ge-  has  disappeared  from  past  participles.  Similarly,  initial  g  and 
k,  though  written,  are  not  pronounced  before  n  :  'grnarl,  knee  '. 
Compare  also  '  knit '  and  '  net ',  '  knot  '  and  '  node  '.  Initial  h, 
while  often  silent  before  a  vowel,  has  fallen  away  before  I,  n,  r  : 
'  laugh  (O.E.  'Alilihan'),  lord  (O.E.  '/da  ford'),  loud  (Mud); 
neck  (/mecca)  ;  raven  (Araefn),  rough  (/z-reoli),  ring  (Tiring),  ridge 
(Arycg) '.  So,  'it'  was  formerly  'hit',  and  'ostler' was  'Hostler '. 
Initial  iv  is  not  used  now  before  I :  '  (w)lisp  ' ;  and  it  is  not 
pronounced  before  r  :  '  wreck,  write  '. 

'  Orange '  dropt  initial  n  from  a  mistaken  association  with 
Lat.  aurum  (gold).  In  other  cases  there  has  been  a  transference 
of  n  to  or  from  the  article  :  '  an  ?iadder '  is  now  '  an  adder  '  ;  '  a 
nap(e)ron  'is  '  an  apron  ' ;  while  '  an  ewt'  has  become  '  a  newt', 
and  '  an  ouch ',  '  a  ?iouch  '.  '  A  ?iag '  may  be  for  '  an  ag '  (cp. 
Lat.  cquus}. 

3.  Classical   Prefixes. — There  are  a  number  of 
prefixes  derived  from  the  classical  languages.     Such  of 
them  as  are  still  employed  to  form  new  compounds 
may  be   considered   English   prefixes ;    as    '  ante '   in 
'  antedate '. 

Some,  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  prefixes  and  suffixes  are  known 
only  as  parts  of  the  words  that  they  are  found  in,  and  we  never 
think  of  their  separate  meaning,  nor  employ  them  to  make  new 
combinations.  Such  are  the  Greek  '  a '  in  '  atrophy  ',  '  anarchy ' ; 
'  cata '  in  '  catastrophe  ',  and  many  others.  A  good  many  of 
the  Latin  prefixes  and  suffixes,  and  a  small  number  of  the 
Greek,  may  be  regarded  as  of  living  application,  being  adopted 
in  their  separate  character  into  the  English  language. 

4.  The   following  Prefixes  are   from   the    Latin. 
Many   of   the   secondary   forms  are  due  to    French 
influence. 

ab,  a,  abs  (from,  away  from):  *«J>ject,  abhor,  abolish, 
abound,  absolve,  absorb,  abuse  ;  amanuensis,  avert,  avocation, 
avoid  -t  abscess,  abscond,  absent,  abstract '. 


ROMANCE    PREFIXES.  229 

,  The  prefix  is  disguised  in  '  advance,  advantage,  avaunt,  van ' 
— all  through  Fr.  avant  (Lat.  ab  +  ante). 

Compare  'abridge'  and  '  abbreviate  ',  the  first  through  Fr. 
abrdycr,  the  other  direct,  from  Lat.  abbreviare.  "  ^ssoilzie  ',  in 
Scots  law,  comes  through  Fr.  from  Lat  ab-solvere. 

ad,  a,  Fr.  a  (to),  with  numerous  assimilations — ac,  af,  ag, 
al,  an,  ap,  ar,  as,  at  :  '  address,  adhere,  admit,  adore, 
adulation,  adverse  (ad,  here,  =  '  to '  in  hostile  sense,  '  against '), 
advert ;  abandon,  adroit,  agree,  a-l-loy  (Fr.  a  la  loi),  amass, 
ascend,  apart,  avalanche,  avenue  ;  accede,  acclaim,  account, 
acquit;  a-f-fair  (Fr.  dfaire),  aj feet,  affirm,  affront;  aggravate, 
aggrieve  :  aZlege,  allow,  ally  ;  annihilate,  annul  ;  appal, 
apparel,  approve  ;  arbiter,  arrange,  arrear  ;  ascertain,  assent, 
assist  ;  attempt,  attract '. 

'  ^-1-arm ',  'a-l-ert'  are  from  Ital.,  through  Fr.  'Aid'  is 
Lat.  adjutare.  New  formations  :  '  admeasurement,  attune '. 
The  prefix  has  been  dropt  in  '  raiment,  size,  cess  (assess)  '. 

ambi,  amb,  am,  an  (both,  on  both  or  all  sides)  :  '  amMent, 
ambiguous,  ambition,  ambulance,  amputate,  ancipital '. 

ante  (before)  :  '  a?i£ccedent,  antedate,  anteroom  '. 

'  v4?/i!icipate  '  must  not  be  referred  to  the  Greek  prefix  '  anti ' : 
it  brought  the  i  from  the  Lat.  '  Ante '  is  at  the  root  of 
*  anterior,  antique,  antic  ;  ancient '. 

bene  (well)  :  '  benefit,  ocrtevolent,  benign  '. 

bi,  bis,  bini  (twice,  two  by  two) :  '  fo'ennial,  bifurcate,  bisect, 
bivalve  ;  biscuit,  bissextile  ;  binocular  '.  New  compounds. 

'  Pimpernel '  is  a  curious  corruption  :  Fr.  pimprcncl/e,  Ital. 
pimpinella,  low  Lat.  bipinnella,  from  bipennis,  '  two-winged ', 
'  double-leaved '. 

circum,  circu  (about,  round)  :  '  circumcise,  circumlocution, 
circumscribe;  circuit'.  New  compounds. 

com  (Lat.  cum,  orig.  com,  'with,  together';  often  little 
more  than  intensive)  ;  also  as  col,  COn,  COI,  and  CO  :  '  co?nbat, 
combine,  commit,  compound  ;  collapse,  colleague,  collide  ; 
conceal,  concede,  concentrate,  concur,  condemn,  consanguineous, 
contract,  correct,  corrupt ;  cognate,  cognition,  co-operate,  co- 
ordinate, co-partner,  covenant'.  New  formations  abundant, 
especially  with  co :  '  commingle,  compatriot  ;  correspond, 
correlate  ;  co-pastor,  co-tenant,  co-worker ',  &c. 

The  prefix  is  further  modified,  or  even  obscured,  in  a  f&w 
words  :  cogent  (Lat.  co-tujent-),  cost  (0.  Fr.  covster,  ItaL 
coatare,  Lat.  constarc),  costive  (Ital.  costipativo,  Lat.  constipare), 
costume  (through  Fr.  and  Ital.,  from  Lat.  con.nu'tudinem),  couch 
(Fr.  coucher,  O.  Fr.  colcher,  Lat.  collocare),  council,  counsel, 
count  (verb  :  0.  Fr.  conter,  Lat.  compittare),  count  (noun,  title: 
Fr.  comte,  Lat.  comitem,  from  com-itum,  '  go  with  '),  countenance, 


230  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OP    WORDS 

couple  and  copula  (co-  root  ap,  to  join),  cousin  (Fr.,  from 
Lat.  consobrinus),  cover  (Fr.  couvrir,  Lat.  co-operire),  cull 
(Fr.  cueillir,  Lat.  collijere),  curry  (Fr.  corroyer,  Ital.  corred- 
are  ;  root  red  =  prepare,  make  '  ready',)  custom  (Fr.  coulume, 
Ital.  and  Lat.  costuma,  from  Lat.  cottsuctudinem),  quail  (Ital. 
quagliare,  Fr.  cailler,  0.  Fr.  coailler,  Lat.  coagiilare),  quaint 
(Fr.  coitt£,  Lat.  comptus). 

contra,  COntro,  N.  Fr.  counter  (Lat.  contra,  from  con ; 
Fr.  contre,  '  against ')  :  '  co?z/radict,  contrast  ;  controversy  ; 
counterfeit,  countermand '. 

New  formations  :  '  contraband,  contradistinguish,  contra- 
vene ;  controvert;  counteract,  counterbalance,  counterpoise,  -scarp, 
-sign,  -vail',  &c. 

Hence  '  contrary  '.  '  Counter  '  is  used  as  an  independent 
adv.  and  adj.  'Country '  is  '  the  land  opposite  you,'  Fr.  contrte, 
Lat.  contrata.  Compare  Germ,  gegend  from  geycn.  '  Country- 
dance  '  is  a  corruption  of  Fr.  '  eowfo-e-danse  '  (the  partners  being 
ranged  in  lines  facing  each  other).  '  Control ',  Fr.  controle,  = 
contre-role,  '  counter  roll '. 

de  (down,  away,  from)  :  « decay,  declare,  deduct,  deject, 
delegate,  deny,  descend '.  While  often  merely  intensive,  it 
sometimes  indicates  deficiency  or  reverses  the  root  meaning  : 

*  depletion,  depopulate,  demented'. 

A  large  number  of  words  derive  initial  de-  from  '  dis  '  (French 
dfs,  de,  de),  which  is  merely  another  form  '  de  '.  '  Ztebonair  ' 
and  '  demure '  contain  '  de '  as  preposition. 

New  compounds  are  common :  '  debase,  decipher,  decom- 
pound, default,  denationalise  ',  &c.  ;  and  in  technical  words  like 

*  ctecarbonise,  deodorize  ',  &c. 

demi  (Fr.  ;  Lat.  dimidium,  half)  :  '  demigod '. 

di,  dis,  Fr.  des,  de  (asunder,  in  two),  with  assimilation  to 
dif-  :  '  rfzgress,  diligent,  dilute,  diverge  ;  disbelieve,  disfavour, 
dislike,  dismember,  disloyal,  disturb  ;  differ,  difficult. 

Descant,  descry,  deshabille,  despatch. 

Defer,  defy,  delay  (Lat.  dilatum),  deluge  (Lat.  diluvium),  &c. 

'  Dirge  '  is  a  contraction  of  Lat.  dirige.  New  compounds  are 
abundant,  with  native  as  well  as  with  classical  roots:  '  dilacerate, 
dipetalous  ;  disable,  disabuse,  disadvantage,  dishonour,  dis- 
respect, distrust ',  &c. 

CC,  6,  ex,  0.  Fr.  es,  (e)s  (from,  out  of ;  exceeding  ;  reversal 
of  action),  with  assimilation  to  ef-  :  '  eccentric  ;  edit,  educate, 
egregious,  elect,  eminent,  enormous  (out  of,  beyond  rule  or 
measure),  emerge  (opp.  of  '  merge ',  lit.  plunge  out ')  ;  exact, 
exasperate,  exceed,  exculpate,  express  ;  efficient,  effete,  effigy  '. 

Less  obvious  cases :  escape,  escheat,  essay,  issue  ;  sample, 
ecarce,  scorch,  (Fr.  escordier  (ecorcher),  Lat.  excorticare,  fiv.m 


ROMANCE   PREFIXES.  231 

corticem,  'bark'),  scourge  (Fr.  escourgde,  Lat.  excorrigiata), 
soar  (Fr.  essorer,  Lat.  ex-aurare,  from  aura)  ;  abash  (Fr. 
esbakir),  afraid  (Fr.  cffrayer,  'terrify',  Lat.  cxfrigidare), 
amend  ('emend  '),  award  (eswarder,  'look  at'),  astonish  (0.  Fr. 
estonner,  Lat.  extonare),  assay  (=  'essay',  Fr.  essai,  Lat. 
exagium). 

New  compounds  are  especially  frequent  to  express  past  office  : 
*  e#-emperor,  ex -may  or  ',  &c. 

equi,  equ  (equal)  :  '  equiangular,  equilibrium,  equinox, 
equipoise,  equivalent ;'  equanimity  '. 

extra  (from  ex :  without,  beyond)  :  '  mrajudicial,  extra- 
mural, extraordinary  ;  extra-charge '. 

'  Extra  '  forms  '  extraneous  ',  and  '  strange '. 

for  (Lat.  foris,  for-,  out  of  doors,  out)  :   '/creeps,  forfeit '. 

in  (1),  (not :  comp.  un  (2),  with  which  it  is  frequently  inter- 
changed), with  modifications  to  i,  il,  im,  ir  :  '  inaction, 
indiscipline,  infant,  injustice,  mactive,  infirm,  inhuman  ; 
ignoble,  ignominy,  ignore ;  iZlegal,  illiberal  ;  immaculate, 
impiety,  impure  ;  irrational,  irregular,  irresponsible '. 

'  .fifaemy '  is  Fr.  ennemi,  Lat.  inimicus  (in,  amicuff). '" 

Compare  '  inability  '  and  '  unable  ',  '  infidelity  '  and  '  un~ 
faithful ',  '  injustice  '  and  '  unjust ',  '  incertitude  '  and  uncer- 
tainty ',  &c.  New  formations  are  abundant. 

in  (2),  Fr.  en,  em  (in,  into,  upon),  with  assimilations  to  il, 
im,  ir '  'income,  increase,  incur,  induce,  infer,  innate; 
illusion,  illumine  ;  imbecile,  immerse,  impair,  import,  imprison  ; 
irradiate,  irrigate  ;  enamel,  encage,  enclose,  engrave  ;  embark, 
embower,  embroil,  employ '. 

A  good  many  words  have  in-  or  en-  ;  as  '  inquire  '  or  '  wiquire .'. 
'  Censer '  and  '  print '  want  the  prefix  :  comp.  '  incense  '  and 
'  MM  print '.  Disguised  forms  are  :  ambush  (Fr.  embuche,  Ital. 
imboseare,  from  im,  '  in  ',  bosco,  '  bush,  wood  ')>  annoy  (Ital. 
annmare^  Fr.  ennuyer,  Lat.  in-odio),  anoint  (Fr.  en-oindre,  Lat. 
in-unct-).  New  formations  are  abundant. 

inter,  0.  Fr.  enter,  (from  in  :  between,  among),  with 
assimilation  to  intel  :  '  i?i^rcede,  interdict,  intermarry, 
interval  ;  intellect,  intelligent ;  efiferprise,  entertain '. 

intro  (from  in :  within,  into  the  inside)  :  '  Produce,, 
intromit,  introspection. 

juxta  (near  to,  close  by)  :   'juxtaposition  '. 

magni,  magn-  (great)  :  '  magniloquent ;  maa?ianimous '. 

male,  mal  (badly,  ill)  :  'malefactor,  maZtreat'  ;  and  new 
compounds. 

'  Alaugre  '  (in  spite  of)  is  Fr.  malgre  =  Lat.  male-gratum, 
'  disagreeable  ' ;  '  malady  '  is  from  Fr.  malade,  '  ill ',  from  Lat. 
male-aptus. 


232  DERIVATION. —  COMPOSITION" OF   WORDS. 

manu,  mani,  man,  Fr,  main,  man  (Lat.  manus,  hand): 

*  wrtvtwfacture,  manumit,  manuscript  ;  manifest,  manipulate  ; 
mandate  ;  maintain  ;  manoeuvre,  another  form  of  which,  with 
another  sense,  is  *  manure  '. 

medi  (mid,  middle)  :    'mediseval,  mediterranean  '. 

'  Meridian  '  is  commonly  accepted  as  from  mcdius-dies  (mid- 
day). 

mis,  0.  F.  mes  (Lat.  minus:  less,  not,  wrongness) :  '  mis- 
adventure,  mischance,  mischief,  miscreant '.  It  has  practi'.rally 
the  same  effect  as  the  English  '  mis  '. 

ne,  nec  (not),  only  in  l^atin  compounds :  '  wefarious, 
^science,  neutral  ;  negation,  negligent,  negotiate '. 

non  (not ;  =  ne  +  conum,  irnum,  'not  one  thing')  is  very 
useful  in  new  formations  :  *  nonage  ;  nonentity,  nonsense ; 
non -political,  non-resistance '. 

ob,  0,  o(b)S,  with  assimilations  OC,  of,  op  (to,  towards, 
upon  ;  in  the  way  of ;  against,  down,  away)  comes  to  ns  in 
Latin  compounds  :  '  obdurate,  obey,  object  ;  omit  ;  ostensible ; 
occasion,  occur  ;  o/fend,  offer  ;  opportune,  oppress  '. 

'  Office '  (Lat.  qffici-um,  opi-ficiuin,  '  help-making  *)  is  some- 
times wrongly  given  as  from  '  ob  '. 

pen  (Fr.  ;  Lat.  poem,  almost) :  'peninsula  penultimate, 
penumbra'. 

per,  Fr.  par  (through  ;  thoroughly)  :  *jtwrceive,  perdition, 
perennial,  perplex,  pervert  ;  paramour,  pardon '.  New 
formations  are  common  :  'perad venture,  perchance,  perdurable, 
peroxide ',  &c. 

'  Pellucid '  is  an  assimilation.  '  Pilgrim '  is  for  Pro- 
ven^-al  'pelegrin,  ltd.  pellegrino,  Lat.  ptrtgrinvs.  Compare 
'  appertain  '  and  ' joz«1;enance  ',  '  a]^7wrtenance  '  (Fr.  '  apjwrr- 
tenance  ').  '  Pierce  '  is  a  great  contraction  ;  Fr.  percer,  Ital. 
•  pertuyiarej  Lat.  per-tusum  (-tundere). 

post  ( '  after '  ;  in  place,  and  chiefly  in  time)  :  'postdate, 
postfix,  post-obit,  post-pnindial '. 

''Puny'  (' Puisne'  (judges)  preserves  the  older  and  fuller 
form)  =  Fr.  p-uhie  =  jneis-ne,  Lat.  post-natus. 

pre,  Lat.  pr<fi,  Fr.  prd :  before  ;  superiority,  &c.)  :  'pre- 
caution, precede,  precipice,  precise,  pre-existence,  prefer, 
preordain,  presence,  prevail '.  New  compounds  are  numerous. 

0.  Fr.  pr-ccher  (L,'dt.  prcedicare]  gives  'preach'.  'Provost' 
is  Fr.  precot,  Lat.  prceposit'tts.  '  Provender '  is  Fr.  pravende, 
Lat.  prti-benda. 

preter  (Fr.  pre'ter,  Lat.  prcefer,  from  prae :  past,  beyond) : 
*_p»*e/mte,  pretermit,  pretematural'. 

pro,  pol,  pot,  pur  (Lat.  pro,  Fr.  pour,  par,  same  root  as 
proe;  before,  forwards,  forth;  in  place  of, for:  comp.  English 


ROMANCE    PREFIXES.  233 

'fore',  'for')  :  'proceed,  profess,  project,  propound;  wroconsul, 
pronoun ;  ^o/iute ;  portend,  portrait  ;  purchase,  pursue,- 
purvey  '. 

Contractions  are  :  prompt,  proctor  (=  procurator),  proxy, 
(=.  procuracy),  prose  (Lat.  prosa,  =  pro-vcrsa),  prudent 
(Lat.  prudens,  =  pro-videiis,  prune  (Fr.  provigner,  Lat. 
pro-pagare). 

quasi  (as  if ;  of  similar  or  analogous  character)  :  '  quasi' 
contract,  quasi-intuition  '. 

re,  re-d  (back  ;  again  ;  against ;  reversal  or  negation  of  root 
meaning)  :  '  receive,  recommend,  reconsider  ;  reclaim,  reluc- 
tant, resist ;  reprove,  reveal  ;  ?'e-deem,  redound,  redundant '. 
New  compounds  are  formed  at  will. 

Less  obvious  cases  are  :  '  rally  '  (Lat.  re-alligare),  ( ?-ampart ' 
(Fr.  rempart,  from  se  r-emparer,  'intrench  ourself),  'ransom' 
(Fr.  ran$on '  Lat.  redemptionem),  '  remnant '  (comp.  '  remain  '), 
'  rencounter ',  '  render  '  (Fr.  rendrc,  Lat.  reddere),  '  rent ', 
'  rest ',  '  ruse  '  (Fr.  '  ruser,  reuscr,  retiser,  Lat.  recusare). 

retro    (from    re :    backwards)  :     '  retrocession,    retrograde, 
retrospect '. 
.  The  JFr.  form  riere  gives  *  rear  '  :  '  rearguard  ',  &c. 

S6,  Se-d  (apart,  away)  :_ 'seclude,  secure,  select,  separate, 
sever  (Fr.  sevrer,  Lat.  separare),  several  ;  se-d-ition. '. 

According  to  one  conjecture,  '  sober '  (Lat.  sobrius)  is  from 
se-ebriiis,  '  not  drunk  '.  '  Sure '  is  a  Fr.  contraction  (seiir,  seur, 
sur)  of  Lat.  securus  (secure). 

semi  (half):  'semicircle,  semitone'.  'Sinciput'  is  from 
semi-caput. 

sine  (later  form  for  se,  scd  :  without) :  '  Secure '.  Most 
probably  '  sincere  '  is  not  connected  with  '  sine '. 

Sllb,  Fr.  SOU,  SO  (se)  (under  ;  from  below  ;  inferiority),  with 
numerous  assimilations,  sue,  SUf,  SUg,  sum,  sup,  sur,  SUS  : 
subaltern,  sublime,  submerge,  subsoil,  subveit  ;  sz^cceed, 
succumb  ;  suffix,  suffuse  ;  suggest  •  summon  ;  supplant,  supple, 
support ;  surrogate  ;  susceptible,  suspend,  sustain  ;  scwvenir, 
sojourn  (Fr.  Sejourner,  Ital.  s^ygiornare,  Lat.  sub-diurnare). 
New  formations  are  abundant. 

•  'Subtile'  (shortened  'sw&tle'),  Lat.  subtilis  —  sub-texilis,  'finely 
woven'.     'Sombre',  Fr.,  from  Lat.  sub-umbra,  '  under  shade  '. 

*  Sudden',  Fr.  soudain,  Lat.  subitan(e)us,  sttbitus,  sub-itum  (eo), 
'  to  go  under,  or  stealthily  '.      '  Sumptuous  ',  from  Lat.  sumptus 
(expense),  from  sumptum  (sumo),  =  sub-emtum \erno ,  'take  up'). 
'  Supine',  Lat.  supinus,  from  sub. 

'  Surge ',  from  Lat.  surgere  =•  sur-rigere  (-regere) ;  whence 
also  '  source  ',  through  French. 

SUbter  (from  sub  :  under)  :  '  subterfuge '. 


234  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF    WORDS. 

Super,  Fr.  sur  (above,  beyond,  superiority,  excess) :  '  supcr- 
abundant,  superadd,  superintend,  supernatural,  supernumerary; 
swrcharge,  surface  (cp.  *  supermini '),  surfeit,  surmount, 
surtout '.  New  compounds  are  not  uncommon. 

Hence  '  superb  '  (Lat.  superbus),  '  superior  ',  '  supernal '. 
'  /Sirloin  ',  Fr.  surlonge,  from  sur-longe,  '  over  the  loin  '. 

SUpra  (from  super  :  above)  :  '  su^ramundane,  supranatural- 
ist,  suprarenal '. 

Hence  'sovereign'  (Fr.  souverain,  Ital.  sovrano),  'somer- 
sault, somerset,  summerset'  (corruptions  of  Fr.  soubresaut, 
Span,  sobresalto,  Lat.  supra-saltus)  ;  and  'supreme'  (Lat. 
supremus). 

trans,  tran,  tra,  Fr.  tres,  tra  (across,  over,  through, 

beyond) :  '  transact,  transatlantic,  transfer,  transit,  transship  ; 
tranquil,  transcend,  transcribe,  transom  ;  tradition,  traduce, 
tramontane  (as  well  as  '  ^nwismontane ' :  conip.  'w&ramontane') ; 
trespass,  traverse,  travesty'. 

'Traitor'  (Fr.  traitre,  Lat.  traditor),  *  treachery'  (0.  E. 
trcchour,  Prov.  trachar,  Lat.  tradere),  'treason'  (O.  Fr.  traison, 
Fr.  trahison,  Lat.  traditionem),  may  be  compared  with  '  tradi- 
tion '. 

'  Trance ',  or  '  transe  ',  Fr.  transe,  Lat.  transitiis.  *  Travel ' 
and  '  travail ',  from  Fr.  travail  (orig.  a  break  for  vicious  horses), . 
from  Lat.  trabaculum,  from  trabs  (a  beam). 

tri,  tre  ;  ter-  (Lat.  treis,  tris,  tres;  ter:  three,  thrice); 
'  triangle,  tribe,  tricolour,  trident,  triple,  tripod,  trivial ;  treble, 
trefoil,  trellis  (Fr.  treillis,  Lat.  trilicem,  tres-licium,  '  three- 
twilled  ')  ;  tercentenary  '.  '  Trammel  'is  Fr  trenail,  formerly 
tre  mail,  from  Lat.  tremaculum,  from  tres-  macula,  '  three -mesh  . 

From  term,  trim  (three  by  three)  come  '  ternary  ',  '  trinity  '., 

Ultra  (beyond)  :   '  w&raliberal,  ultramarine  '. 

'  Outrage '  is  Fr.  ;  0.  Fr.  oultrage,  low  Lat.  ultragium. 

Un,  uni  (one)  :  '  wwanimous  ;  wm'corn,  unison,  universe  '. 

Hence  '  union,  unique,  unit,  unite,  unity,  Unitarian  '. 

veh,  V6  (negatives  or  reverses  the  root  meaning)  :  'veh-e> 
ment  '  (lit.  '  not  reasonable  '). 

'  Widow ',  Lat.  vidua,  is  generally  given  as  from  ve  (without), 
dhava  (husband) ;  better,  from  root  -vid  (separate)  in  '  divide  ', 
&c. 

vice,  Fr.  vis  (in  place  of) :  '  wee-admiral,  vice-chairman,. 
viceroy  ;  Discount '.  New  compounds  are  frequent. 

Hence  '  vicar '. 

6.  The  following  are  the  Greek  Prefixes  : — 

am  phi  (both,  on  both  sides:  Lat.  amb,  0.  E.  ymb,  umbe,- 
Germ.  urn):  ' amphibious,  amphitheatre'. 


GREEK    PREFIXES.  235 

an,  a  (negative :  Lat.  in,  Engl.  un) :  '  awarchy,  anecdote, 
anodyne,  anonymous ;  abyss,  adamant,  amnesty,  apathy, 
asylum '. 

ana  (up,  back,  again)  :  '  anabaptist,  anachronism,  anaglyph, 
analysis,  anatomy '. 

anti  (against) :  'antidote,  antipathy  ;  a?i£agonist'.  'Anthem', 
0.  E.  antcfn,  antcm,  is  the  same  word  as  '  antiphon  '. 

New  formations  :  antipope,  anti-slavery,  &c. 

apo  (from,  away  :  Lat.  ab,  Engl.  off}  :  '  apocalypse,  apogee, 
apology,  apoplexy,  apostasy,  apostle  ;  aphelion,  aphorism  '. 

arch  (chief) :  '  archangel,  arc7ibishop,  architect '.  New 
formations  :  arch-conspirator,  arch-heretic,  &c. 

auto  (self) :   '  allograph,  autonomy  ;  authentic  '. 

cata  (down) :  '  catalogue,  catarrh,  catastrophe  ;  cafar&ct, 
catechise  ;  mtfhedral,  catholic.  '  Chair '  is  Fr.  chaire,  Lat.  and 
Gr.  cathedra. 

dia,  di  (through  :  connected  with  Lat.  dis,  de]  :  '  diadem, 
diagnosis,  diameter  ;  diocese,  o'torama  '.  Compare  '  oYaconate  ', 
and  '  deacon  '  (Greek  diakouos)  ;  '  diabolical '  and  '  devil '  (Gr. 
diabolos,  O.E.  deofol). 

'  Diamond  '  is  an  accidental  similarity  :  Fr.  diamant,  Gr. 
a*damant-  (see  an,  a). 

di  (two,  twice)  :  '  digraph,  dilemma,  dipthong,  diploma, 
distich  '.  '  Di-s-syllable  should  have  only  one  s. 

dys  (hard,  ill) :  '  dysentery,  dispepsia '. 

6C,  ex  (from,  out  of)  :  'ecclesiastic,  eclectic,  eclipse,  ecstasy  ; 
«regesis,  exodus  '. 

en,  em,  el  (Gr.  en,  in)  :  'encyclopaedia,  endemic,  energy, 
enthusiasm  ;  emblem,  embryo,  emphasis,  emporium  ;  eZlipse  '.. 

epi,  ep  (upon)  :  '  epidemic,  epigram,  episcopal,  epistle, 
epitaph  ;  ephemeral '. 

CU  (well)  :  '  ewcharist,  eulogy,  euthanasia  '. 

The  v  in  *  evangel-ic,  -ical,  -ist',  &c.,  is  due  to  Latin. 

hemi  (Lat.  semi  :  half) :   '  ^?nz'sphere,  hemistich  '. 

hyper  (Lat.  super,  Germ,  iiber,  Engl.  over(comp.  up,  upper)  : 
over,  beyond,  excess)  :  ' A^^borean,  hypercritical'. 

hypo,  hyp  (Lat.  sub:  under)  :  '  hypocrite,  hypothec, 
hypothesis  ;  Ay^hen '. 

meta,  met  (among,  with  ;  after  ;  change)  :  '  wctomorphose, 
metaphor,  metaphysics  ;  metsil,  mettle,  meteor,  method '. 

micro  (small)  :  '  microcosm  (opposed  to  *  macrocosm  '), 
microphone,  microscope. 

mono,  mon  (alone) :  '  monogamy,  monograph,  monomania, 
monotone  ;  monarch,  monody '. 

pan,  panto   (all)  :  '^?aworama,  pantheism,  pantomime '. 

para,  par  (beside,  against)  :  parable,  paradox,  paragraph  ; 
^/•enthesis,  parhelion,  parish,  parody'. 


236  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION   OP   WORDS. 

'  Parabola,  parable,  parlance,  parley,  parliament,  parlour, 
parole  ' — all  from  Gr.  parabole,  some  of  them  through  low  Lat. 
parabolare,  Ital.  parlare,  FT.  parlcr. 

peri  (round)  :   'pericardium,  period,  peripatetic '. 

'Pm'winkle'  (plant)  is  0.  E.  pineunncle,  penance,  Fr.  per- 
vert che,  Lat.  perrinca,  or  vincapervinca,  from  per  and  vincio 
(bind).  _  'Periwig'  is  a  corruption  of  'peruke'.  Neither  has  any 
connexion  with  Gr.  peri. 

philo  (friendly  to)  :  'philo- Athenian,  philo-Spartan '  (Grote). 

poly  (man}') :    'polygamy,  polygon,  polytheism '. 

pro  (-before)  :  'problem,  proem,  programme,  prologue'. 

pros  (towards)  :   'proselyte,  prosody  '. 

pseudo  (false)  :   'pseudonym,  pseudo-martyr'. 

Syn  (comp.  Lat.  cum  :  with),  modified  to  syl,  Sym,  sy  : 
'  synagogue,  synod,  synopsis  (comp.  Lat.  conspectus),  syntax ; 
syllable  •  sympathy;  system. '. 

Derivation  of  the  Parts  of  Speech. 

THE  NOUN. 

6.  Root    Nouns.       Some     Nouns     are    simple, 
primitive,  or  underived  words.     These  are  sometimes 
called  roots  ;  as  «  eye  ',  *  ear ',  '  hand ',  «  foot ',  « cow  ', 
'sheep',  'heart/  'hope*. 

These  are  root  words  as  far  as  concerns  English  grammar 
In  the  comparison  of  languages  they  may  sometimes  be  traced 
to  forms  still  more  radical  or  fundamental.  To  do  so  is  the 
province  of  comparative  grammar,  or  philology. 

7.  Derived  Nouns  are  formed  from  simple  Nouns, 
from  Adjectives  and  from  Verbs 

The  means  of  formation  are  :  (1)  Internal  modification — 
change  in  the  vowel,  or  in  the  consonants,  or  in  both  ;  (2) 
Prefixes  ;  and  (3)  Suffixes  or  Endings. 

Adjectives  are  very  commonly  used  as  Nouns  by  simple 
omission  of  the  nouns  they  should  limit  ;  but  these  must  always 
be  readily  understood.  Verbs  are  also  sometimes  used  as 
nouns  without  any  change. 

8.  I.  Nouns  are  derived  from  other  Nouns. 

JL)  By  internal  modification.   By  change  of  vowel,  or  of  vowel 
consonant,  we  have  such  derivatives  as  'chick'    (0.    E. 
cycen,  from  '  cock '),  '  kit '  (cat),  '  tip  '  (top).     In  such  cases  as 


NOUNS    FORMED    FROM    NOUNS.  237 

.'  tip  ',  from  '  top  ',  we  must  infer  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
or  from  analogy,  which  is  the  primitive  and  which  the  derivative. 
'  Kit '  and  '  chick  '  are  abbreviations  of  '  kitten  ',  '  chicken '  ; 
and  the  vowel  change  is  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  final 
syllable  now  dropt.  These  are  all  diminutives. 

(2.)  By  Prefixes.     Already  exemplified  (§§  2-5). 

(3).  By  Suffixes,  Native  and  Classical. 

(a).  The  following  group  have  reached,  from  various  original 
meanings,  the  same  general  signification  of  state,  Quality,  or 
condition.  In  accordance  with  the  usual  tendency,  the 
abstract  name  has  in  many  cases  been  taken  to  express  col- 
lectiveness,  the  body  of  individuals  possessing  the  abstract 
quality.  Some  examples  have  passed  to  the  more  remote 
application  of  general  or  class,  or  even  material,  names. 

'  Native  Suffixes,  —craft  (strength,  skill,  condition)  :  '  book- 
craft,  priestcraft,  witchcraft,  woodcraft '. 

dom  (jurisdiction,  authority,  condition):  'Christendom, 
heathendom,  kingdom  (in  0.  E.,  however,  it  was  cynedom  :  see 
§  9,  2),  martyrdom,  rascaldom,  serfdom  '. 

hood,  head  (0.  E.  Jmd :  rank,  condition)  :  '  boyhood 
brotherhood,  childhood,  manhood ;  godhead,  maidenhead 
(-hood) '. 

lock  (0.  E.  lac :  gift,  play)  :  '  wedlock '.  In  0.  E.  :  brydlac 
('bride-lock',  marriage),  gulhlac  ('war-play',  battle),  &c. 

ness  (state,  condition)  :  '  wilderness  (from  wil(d)deor,  '  wild 
beast');  nothingness,  somethingness  (Goldsmith)'.  Also, 
perhaps,  '  witness '. 

red  (0.  E.  rcedcn :  reckoning,  law,  condition)  :  '  kindred ' 
(O.  E.  cynred,  cynren,  for  cynrceden)  ;  '  hatred '  is  a  late 
example  (12th  cent. ).  '  Hundred '  is  doubtful. 

lie  (rule,  jurisdiction)  :  '  bishopric  '. 

Ship  (0.  E.  stipe, :  shape,  manner,  condition)  :  '  fellowship, 
friendship,  guardianship,  lordship,  worship  (=  'worthship') '. 

The  chief  of  these  suffixes — dom,  hood,  ship,  seem  to  be 
employed  somewhat  indiscriminately  in  new  compounds,  the 
preference  being  governed  probably  by  suitability  of  sound. 
When  the  same  word  is  combined  with  more  than  one  suffix,  a 
distinctive  meaning  is  connected  with  each  compound  :  compare 
'  kingdom '  and  '  kingship  '. 

Classical  Suffixes. — acy  (Lat.  atus :  condition,  office)  : 
'celibacy,  magistracy'.  So:  'curacy,  papacy,  &c. '. 

ade  (on  analogy  of  same  suffix  to  verb  roots)  :   '  balustrade, 
jolonnade,  fusilade,  lemonade  '. 
,  age  (Fr.  ;  Lat.  -aticus,  orig.  forming  adjectives) ;  '  homage, 


238  DERIVATION.  —  COMPOSITION   OP  WORDS. 


pee 
foli 


rage,  vassalage,  voyage  ;  brokerage,  mileage  ;  cellar^  ; 
oliage,  herbage  ;  cottage,  personage  '. 

archy  (Gr.  ;  rule)  :  '  squirearchy  '. 

ate  (Lat.  atus,  4th  decl.  ;  office)  :  '  consulate,  iLarshalate, 
protectorate  '.  Compare  acy.  '  Celibate,  magistrate,  potent- 
ate ',  are  concrete  applications. 

cide  (Lat  -cidium,  -murder):  'matricide,  regicide,  suicide'. 
Shelley  has  *  libertieide  '. 

cracy  (Gr.  -kratvi  ;  rule)  :  *  democracy,  ochlocracy,  pluto- 
cracy ;  bureaucracy,  mobocracy  '. 

cy  (see  acy)  :  '  advocacy,  bankruptcy,  colonelcy,  ensigncy  '. 

ine  (Lat.  ina)  :  '  discipline,  doctrine,  medicine  ;  famine  '. 

ism  (as  from  Greek  verbs  in  izo  ;  see  ma  •  .  S-m,  §  10, 
3,  (3))  :  '  absentee/sw,  despotism,  journalism,  materialism, 
pietism  '. 

mony  (Lat.  -mon-ia,  -ium)  :  'ceremony,  matrimony,  patri- 
mony, testimony  '. 

ry,  ery  (Lat.  aria,  eria,  Fr.  (e)rie)  :  (  carpentry,  chivalry, 
devilry,  knavery,  poetry  '.  So  :  '  buffoonery,  coquetry,  popery, 
rivalry  '. 

ty  (Lat.  tat-em<  Fr.  te}  :  'authority,  city*.     So,  'laity'. 

y  (Lat.  atus,  4th  decl.)  :  '  county,  duchy'. 

y  (Gr.  and  Lat.  eia,  ia,  Fr.  ie)  :  '  barony,  energy,  euphony, 
Italy,  monarchy,  phantasy  (fancy)'. 

y  (Lat.  -ium)  :  'mastery,  ministry,  mystery'.  So,  'burglary, 
fishery,  robbery'. 

Other  cases  in  -y  are  seen  in  -ac-y,  -arch-y,  -crac-y,  -mon-y. 

(b.)  The  next  group  contains  examples  of  endings  whose 
prevailing  force  is  diminutive.  There  must  have  been  some 
powerful  motives  at  work  to  lead  to  so  many  forms  of  expressing 
diminution.  In  this  case  we  must  look  to  the  feelings  even 
more  than  to  the  intellect.  The  two  strong  sentiments  — 
endearment  and  contempt  —  are  gratified  by  these  modes  of 
designating  things.  They  are  also  applied  to  the  young  of  all 
living  beings,  and  to  the  instances  of  things  occurring  below 
the  average  size.  Many  of  the  terms  have  now  lost  their 
diminutive  force,  and  are  applied  to  discriminate  things 
specifically  or  generically  different,  so  that  the  emotional 
impulses  have  here,  as  in  other  instances,  contributed  to  extend 
the  number  of  words  available  for  the  objects  of  nature  and  art. 

Native  Suffixes.—  k,  ock  (dimin.):  'bullock,  hillock;  hawk 
(0.  E.  hq/oc)  \  Patronymics  :  '  Pollock  (Paul),  Willock, 
"Willox  '.  In  Scotch,  -ick  :  '  lass?'c&  '  as  well  as  '  lassock  '. 

ikin,  kin  (ock  -f-  -n)  :  '  bootz'&'W,  maunikin  ;  firkin  (four), 
lambkin,  uapkiii  '.  Patronymics  :  '  Diwkin(*)  (David)  ;  Haw- 


NOUNS  FORMED  FROM  NOUNS.         239 

kin(s)  (Hal.  Henry);  Perkin(s),  Peterkin;  Tomkin,  Tomkyns  ; 
Wilkiu(s)  ;  Watkin(s)  (Wat,  Walter)'. 

ing  (nasalized  -k,  dimin.)  :  '  farthfo<-  (fourth),  tithing  (tithe, 
tenth),  riding  (Yorkshire;  for  '  Striding'  :  'thrid'  =  'third')- 
Patronymics:  *  JEthelwu.lfm#,  Wecting',  and  regularly  in 
oldest  English.  So  '  setheling '  ;  '  king  '  (0.  E.  cyniii'j,  cine/)  is 
not  certain. 

ling  (=  l-ing)  :  '  duckling,  gosling,  squireling,  yearling  '. 

y,  ie  :  *  babjr,  Willy  ;  lassie,  la&s-ick-ie  '.  This  ending  may 
be  regarded  as  a  weaker  mode  of  -k  (ock,  &c.). 

en  :  '  chickc?i  (cock),  kitten  (cat),  maiden  '. 

fill  (full;  the  opposite  of  diminution)  :  'cap/wZ,  handful, 
pocketi'ul '. 

Classical  Suffixes. — aster:  'oleaster  (wild  olive),  pinaster; 
pilaster  (pillar  only  partly  shown),  poetaster  (inferior  poet) '. 

cule,  cle,  ule,  le,  el,  il  (Lat.  culum,  ulus,  ellus,  illus,  &c.)  : 
'aniirialcwfe,  reticule;  particle  (parcel),  tubercule,  uncle,  ven- 
tricle, versicle  ;  globule,  nodule,  pilule  ;  castle,  chapel,  libel, 
morsel,  vessel  (vasez<Z-ar),  codicil,  pugi'Zist '.  '  Grill ',  Fr. 
grille,  is  Lat.  craticula. 

r-el,  er-el  :  '  cockerel,  mackerel,  pickerel  (pike)  '. 

isk  (Gr.  iskos)  :  '  asterisk,  basilisk,  obelisk '. 

t,  et,  Ot  (Fr.  et,  ette,  ot,  ottc}  :  '  billet,  casket,  circlet, 
coronet,  lancet,  pocket,  ticket,  turret ;  ballot,  chariot '. 

1-et :  '  looklet,  ringlet,  leaflet,  speechlet '. 

(c).  A  third  group  contains  some  endings  that  express  an 
agent  or  person,  or  an  instrument  or  thing,  connected  with  the 
object  that  the  root  word  names. 

Native  Suffixes.— le  :   '  thimbfc  '  (thumb). 

lick,  lock,  ley  (O.  E.  leac,  '  leek ',  '  plant ')  :  '  gartfcfe ; 
charZoct,  hemlock  ;  barley '.  *  Cowslip  '  is  perhaps  a  corruption 
of  'cow's-leek'. 

man,  woman  :  '  churchwaw,  -woman,  countryman,  prize- 
man'. 

en  (See  INFLEXION,  Gender,  §  5)  :  ' vixen'  (fox). 

er:  'bencher,  executioner,  glover,  hatter,  islander;  74- 
pounder,  three-decker,  porringer  '.  '  Fruit-er-er  '  has  double 
ending.  Through  French  influence  come  'clotlrier,  lawyer',  &c. 

Ster :   '  songsfcr,  tonguester  ;  roadster '. 

Classical  Suffixes.  —  ad,  id  (Gr.  and  Lat.  -ad-,  -id-;  of,  or 
belonging  to  ;  names  of  descendants  and  of  poems)  :  '  Iliad 
(llion),  Sestiad  (Sestos^  ;  JEneid  (^Jneas) '.  '  Heraclt'rf,  Nereid  '. 

a-go  (Lat. ;  cp.  igo  §  13)  :  '  farrago,  plumlw(/o,  virago, 
virgin ;  laii-w/ira-ous,  ole-a^i?z--ous  '.  '  Cartilage  '  (Lat.  car- 
tilayo). 


240          DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION   OF   WORDS, 

al,  el,  (See  §13)  :  'canaZ  (channel),  funeral,  general,  hospits 
(hotel),  jewel,  material,  &c.'  ;  all  originally  adjectives. 

an,  ain,  &c.  (See  Adjectives  from  Nouns,  §  13)  :  '  gram- 
marian, librarian ;  chaplam,  villain  ;  campaign '.  Funda- 
mentally an  adjective  formation. 

ar,  er,  or,  eer,  ier,  ary  (Lat.   -arius,  Fr-  -aire,  -ier) : 

'  scholar,  vicar ;  butler,  carpenter,  cellarer,  draper,  messenger 
plover,  prisoner,  sorcerer,  squire  (older  '  squyer '),  treasurer, 
usher;  chancellor,  proprietor;  brigadier,  chandelier;  engineer, 
mountaineer;  dignitary,  functionary,  missionary'. 

ar,  er,  ry,  ary  (Lat.  arium ;  place  or  thing)  :  '  cellar, 
charter,  exemplar  (sampler) ;  clower,  larder,  saucer ;  dowry, 
vestry  ;  aviary,  granary,  library,  seminary,  vocabulary '. 

*  Armory '. 

ard   (N.    Fr.   ard,  Germ,    hart,  0.    E.    heard :    intensive) : 

*  coward!    (Lat.    cauda,    'tail';    cp.     Ital.    codardo :    has    no 
connexion     with      'cow'),     staggard,     tankard;     Savoyard; 
Leonard'.    'Gizzard'  is  assimilated  from  Fr.  gesier,  Lat.  gigerium. 
'  Lizard '  is  French  lezard,  Lat.  lacerta. 

ate   (substances) :   '  cerate,  carbonate,  hydrate '. 

brum  (Lat.  ;  place)  :  'candelaorww,  cerebrum*. 

ch  ge  (Lat.  -tcus,  -tea)  :   '  -perch,  porch  ;  forge,  serge*. 

cide  (Lat.  -ctda,  -killer)  :  '  matricide,  regicide'. 

crat  (Gr.,  ruler):  '  democrat,  plutocrat'. 

em  :  '  casern,  cistern,  tavern  '. 

CSS   (Lat.    issa,    Fr.    esse :    see   INFLEXION,    Gender,   §    5): 

*  baroness,  duchess,  manageress,  poetess  '. 

CSS,  is,  CSC,  (Lat.  ensis,  of,  belonging  to)  :  '  burgess, 
marqm's  (marquess) ;  Milanese,  Siamese'.  Originally  adjectives : 
see§  11.  m 

-1C,  -tic  (originally  adjective  ending) :  'clera'c  (clerk),  mystic; 
logz'c(s),  mathematics,  metaphysic(s)  ',  &c. 

ina,  ine  (Gr.  ine,  Lat.  ina :  see  INFLEXION,  Gender,  §  5)  : 
''heroine,  Josephine  ;  czar  ina  '. 

ine,  in  (substances  :  fundamentally  adjective  ending) : 
'  casei'ne,  fluorine,  pepsine,  tannin  '. 

ist  (on  the  analogy  of  nouns  from  Greek  verbs  in  izo)  : 
1  artist,  calvinist,  excursionist,  florist,  monarchist,  pianist, 
tobacconist,  toleration  ist '. 

ist-er  :  '  bar-r-ts^-er,  chor-t^-er,  sophister '. 

ite,  it  (Gr.  ites,  Lat.  ita)  :  'cosmopoh'te,  hoplite,  Israelite, 
Neapolitan  ;  Jesuit '.  And  in  scientific  names  of  substances  : 
'  ammonite,  dolomite,  websterite  '. 

IX.     See  trix,  below. 

OH,  eon,  ion,  OOn,  one  (Lat.  -7m-,  -ion- :  persons,  animals, 
or  things,  like  to  or  connected  with  the  object  deoioted  by  the 


NOUNS   FROM   ADJECTIVES.  241 

root  word;  sometimes  diminutive,  sometimes  augmentative)  : 
'  centimVw,  champion,  matron,  patron  ;  falcon,  stallion  ; 
(e)scutclieow,  gallon,  pennon  (pennant),  talon,  balloort,  bassoon, 
musketooii,  saloon,  troinbo?te '.  '  Pawn  '  (chessman)  is  Fr.  pion, 
Ital.  pedone. 

ry,  ery  (Lat.  an'a,  eria,  Fr.  (e)rie  :  collective)  :  '  buttery, 
cavalry,  pantry ;  drapery,  Englishry,  gentry,  machinery, 
masonry,  musketry,  peasantry,  poultry  '. 

tor  (See  verb  roots)  :   '  gladiator,  janitor '. 

trix  (=  tor-ix,  fern,  of  -tor :  see  verb  roots)  :  '  jani-to'-we, 
proprietrix '. 

y  (Lat.  -iuni:  place)  :  *  auditory,  dormitory,  registrary*. 

9.  II.   Nouns  are  derived  from  Adjectives,  by 

means  of  suffixes. 

(a)  The  chief  formation  yields  abstract  nouns. 

Native  Suffixes. — The  following  two  are  the  principal  : 

ness.  This  is  by  far  the  chief  suffix  for  converting  the 
adjective  into  the  corresponding  abstract  noun  :  '  boldness, 
goodness,  kindness,  sharpness,  whiteness '.  There  are  many 
hundreds  of  these  compounds  in  English. 

th,  t  (same  as  the  participial  ending  -d)  :  *  breads  (broad), 
dearth,  depth,  drought  (dry),  health  (hale),  height  (formerly 
also  '  highth '),  length  (long),  strength,  sloth,  width '.  The 
vowel  is  shortened  or  otherwise  changed,  and  sometimes 
the  final  consonant  of  the  adjective  is  also  modified. 

The  other  abstract  suffixes  are  less  used  : 

dom  '•  l  freedom,  halidom,  wisdom  '.  '  Kingdom  '  is  a  new 
formation  on  the  basis  of  0.  E.  cynedom,  '  royal  (cyne)  juris- 
diction or  authority  (dom,  doom) '. 

hood  :  '  falsehood,  hardihood,  likelihood '.  *  Livelihood ' 
once  meant  'liveliness',  but  it  has  taken  the  place  of  'liflode' 
(lif-ladu,  '  life-leading '),  '  means  of  living  '. 

S  l  '  bliss '  is  for  bliths,  from  '  blithe  '. 

Ship  :  '  hardship  '. 

Classical  Suffixes. — acy  (see  y). 

Ciacy  (Gr.,  rule):  '  aristocracy,  autocracy,  oligocracy '. 

ice,  ISC,  ess  (Lat.  it-ia  ;  Fr.  ice,  ise,  esse)  :  '  justice,  malice  ; 
franchise,  merchandise  ;  prowess,  riches  (for  '  richess  ') '. 

ism  (§  10,  HI.,  (3)):  'absolutism,  conventionalism,  optimism, 
pessimism,  romanticism,  truism  (concrete) '. 

lence,  lenc-y  (from  -lent)  :  '  corpuZewce,  opulence,  turbulence, 
turbu-/c?tc-y,  virulence '. 

lHOn-y  (Lat.  mon-ia,  -ium)  :  f  acrimowy,  sanctimony  '. 

nee,  nc-y    (Lat.    nt-ia,    Fr.   nc-e :    IVom   iriipf.    part,    -nt)  : 
16 


242  DERIVATION.  —  COMPOSITION    OF    WORDS. 


e,  brilliance,  -anc-y,  delinquency,  eminence,  -enc-y, 
evidence,  precedence,  -ency  '. 

ry,  ery  :  •  braver//,  finery,  pleasantry  '. 

tilde  (Lat.  tiui-(in)-em)  :  '  aptitude,  certitude,  lassitude, 
magnitude,  multitude,  quietude  (for  quiet-tude),  plenitude  '. 
'  Custom  '  is  contuetudinein,  Fr.  coutume. 

ty  (Lat.  tat-em,  Fr.  tt]  :  '  beau/y,  bounty,  certainty,  charity, 
cruelty,  faculty,  fidelity  (fealty),  honesty  (for  honest-ty),  liberty, 
purity,  security  (surety),  variety  '. 

y  (Gr.  and  Lat.  ia,  Fr.  ie)  :  'misery,  perfidy,  philosophy; 
efficacy,  delicacy,  privacy,  &c. 

For  other  cases  of  -y,  see  le)ic-y,  mon-y,  nc-y,  above. 

(6)  A  few  suffixes  expresses  agent  or  person,  or  instrument  or 
related  object. 

Native  Suffixes.  —  er,  Ster  :  'Britisher,  foreigner,  philoso- 
pher; youngster  '. 

in&lin-g  (often  dimin.)  :  '  sweetmgr,  whiting  ;  d&rling  (dear), 
firstling,  youngling,  weakling'.  'Scantling'  is  an  assimilation 
of  Fr.  ec1ut.ntillon,  which  is  a  dimin.  from  a  noun,  and  has 
nothing  to  do  with  '  scant  '. 

Classical  Suffixes.  —  arch  (Gr.,  ruler):   '  hievarch,  monarch  '. 
ary  (Lat.  ari-us.-um)  :  'adversary,  secretary;  mortuary'. 
ate  (like  participles  in  -atus)  :  '  candidate  '. 
Ciat  (Gr.,  ruler)  :   'aristocrat,  autocrat'. 
1st  (on  analogy  of  nouns  from  Gr.  verbs  in  -izo)  :  '  economist, 
optimist,  purist,  royalist,  specialist  '. 

n,  an,  ain,  en,  in,  on  (om)  (Lat.  -an-,  -en-,  &*  )  :  '  dean, 

fountaw,  mountain  ;  alien,  dozen,  sovereign  ;  chain,  vermin  ; 
damso/i  (damascene),  venom  ;  clarion,  onion,  simple-  t-on.  '  Most 
of  these  are  originally  adjectives. 

S-ter  (Lat.)  :   '  master  (mogister),  minister  '. 

t,  it(e),  Ot(e)  (Gr.  -tes,  Lat.  -to)  :  '  henm'l  (eremite),  idiot, 
patriot  ;  Cypriote  '. 

10.  III.  Nouns  are  derived  from  Verbs. 
(1)  By  internal  modification. 

(a)  By  change  of  vowel  :  '  band,  bond   (from  '  bmd  '),  food 
(feed),  stroke  (strike)  '. 

(b)  By  modifying  the  final  consonant  :  '  belie/  (believe), 

' 


(dig),  speee/i 

(c)  By  modifying  both  voivcl  and  consonant  :  '  choice  (choose), 
breach  (break),  life  (live),  watch  (wake),  breath  (breathe),  loss 
(lose),  hilt  (hold)'. 


NOUNS   FROM   VERBS.  243 

(2)  By  Prefixes  (§§  2-5).     This  process  is  indirect :  '  mcome, 
ow^come,  outturn,  overturn,  &c '. 

(3)  By  Suffixes. 

(a)  Expressing  agent  or  person,  or  instrument  or  related 
object. 

Native  Suffices. — 1,  el,  le  :  'beadZe,  beetle  (the  animal),  fo\W '. 
'  Beetle  (mallet),  bridle,  bundle,  girdle,  nee-d-le,  riddle,  saddle, 
sai?,  settle  (seat),  shovel,  sickle,  skittles,  spin-d-le,  stile  (O.E. 
stigel),  whittle '. 

1-ing  (diminutive  ;  sometimes  passive)  :  '  changeling,  foster- 
ling, hireling,  suckling '. 

m,  om  :  'barm  (bear),  bloom  (blow),  gleam  (glow),  qualm 
(quell),  seam  (sow),  team  (tow)  ;  blossowi  (blow),  bosom,  bottom, 
fathom'. 

man  :  '  hangraa?& '.  '  Ploughman,  watchman,  workman  ', 
&c.,  may  come  from  nouns. 

n,  en,  on  (past  partic.  ending):  'baira  (bear),  beacon,  (beck), 
burden  (bear),  heaven  (heave),  main  (may,  O.E.  mag-,  '  be 
great '),  son  (=  bairn),  thane  (O.  E.  thcg(e)n,  then,  from  verb  = 
'  serve  '),  token  (from  verb  =  '  show '),  waggon,  wain  (from 
0.  E.  weyan,  '  to  carry  ')'. 

nd  (0.  K.  impf.  part,  ending)  :  '  fiend  (from  fian,  '  to  hate  '), 
friend  (0.  E.  frcond,  from/reow,  '  to  love  ')'.  '  Errand  (from  verb 
=  4  ))e  quick  '),  wind  (from  verb  =  '  blow ')'. 

r,  ar,  er,  or  :  '  baker,  boor,  builder,  delver,  digger,  idler, 
planter,  printer,  singer,  speaker  ;  beggar  (formerly  '  begger '), 
liar  ;  sailor  (0.  E.  '  sailer ')'.  '  Bower,  chopper,  cooler,  dis- 
claimer, finger,  lair,  rejoinder,  reminder,  roller,  stair,  streamer, 
timber. ' 

Ster  (see  INFLEXION,  Gender,  §5)  :  'baxter  (O.E.  Icecestre, 
from  '  bake  '),  brewster,  deemster  or  dempster  (judge,  in  Isle  of 
Man  and  in  Channel  Islands  :  O.E.  deman,  to  deem  or  judge), 
punster,  rhymester,  spinster,  throwster '. 

th,  t,  d  (past  partic.  ending)  :  '  wrea^A  ;  cleft,  gift ;  blarfe, 
brand,  deed  (do),  flood,  seed  (sow)'.  Cp.  abstracts  in  these 
endings. 

ther,  ter,  der  :  '  father,  mother,  daughter '.  '  Bladder, 
blister  (blow),  fearer  (from  verb  =  '  fly  '),  fodder,  ladder  (from 
verb  =  'climb'),  rudder  (row).' 

Classical  Suffixes.— ade,  ado  (see  below  (2))  :  '  renegade, 
desperado '. 

ard,  art  (see  §  8  ;  mixed  up  with  sense  of  agency)  :  '  blink- 
ard,  brag-g-ar<  (formerly  '  bragga?'d '),  laggard  ;  poniard  '. 

bulum  (Lat. ),  bule,  ble  :  '  }>&bulum ;  vestibule ;  fable,  stable, 
vocable  '.  -bra,  as  in  '  verte&Va  ',  is  a  slight  modification  for 
euphony. 


244  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF    WORDS. 

culum  (Lat),  cule,  cle  ;  slightly  modified  to  cmm  (Lat), 

chre  :  '  curriculum  ;  ridicule  ;  miracte,  article,  vehicle  ;  ful- 
erum,  simulacrum  ;  sepulture  '. 

pie  (Lat  pulum] :  '  example,  temple  '. 

Compare  also  -trum. 

66  (Lat  p.  part  -atus,  -ata ;  Fr.  e,-ee]  :  'legatee'.  So, 
'  absentee,  committee,  consignee,  devotee,  payee,  refugee  '. 

ma,  m,  me,  -S-m  (Gr.  and  Lat,  -ma,  -mos(mus),  -s-m-}  : 
diploma,  poem,  problem,  scheme,  theme ;  chasm,  spasm, 
baptism,  chrism,  prism,  isth?/t?w,  cosmos,  microcosm '.  The  -s- 
belongs  originally  to  derivatives  from  Greek  verbs  in  -izo. 
Many  of  these  words  are,  in  the  first  instance,  abstract  ;  as 
'  baptism,  spasm  '. 

mus,  m,  me  (Lat.  -mus,  &c. ,  instrumental  agency)  :  '  animus, 
arm,  fame,  flame,  fume  '. 

men,  me,  m  (Lat  men,  passive  subject)  :  'specimen-,  crime, 
volume,  charm,  germ  (germen)'.  '  Noun  '  is  from  '  nomen  ', 
through  French. 

mnus,  mn  (Lat.  mnus,  &c.,  passive  subject)  :  'alumnus, 
autumn,  column '. 

n,  ne  (Lat.  -n-us,-a,-um  ;  Gr.  nos,  &c. ,  ;  '  possessing ';  cognate 
with  -n,  en  of  p.  part.)  :  'fane,  pen,  plain,  plane,  reign,  sign, 
throne '. 

ndum  (Lat. ),  nd  (gerund. ) :  '  mem.oTandi.tm  ;  deodand, 
multiplicand,  reprimand,  viand  ;  dcvidend,  legend,  prebend  '. 

nt  (Lat.  impf.  part):  'defendant,  merchant,  servant; 
accide?i£,  agent,  current,  student'.  Cp.  Adjectives  in  -nt,  many  of 
which  become  nouns,  sometimes  with  change  of  '  -ent '  to  '  -ant '. 

ion,  On,  eon,  OOn  (Lat.  -on-,  &c.)  :  'legion,  region;  dra- 
gon, glutton,  lesson  (lection),  mason ;  pigeon  ;  buffoon,  spittoon  '. 
Cp.  abstracts. 

CSS  (see  INFLEXION,  Gender,  §  5) :  '  cateress,  murderess,  pro- 
curess '.  The  fern,  ending  replaces,  instead  of  being  added  to, 
the  masc.  ending.  '  Empress '  is  an  assimilation  ;  contracted, 
through  French,  from  imperatricem  (-trix). 

t,  ate,  it(Q\  S(e),  ce,  te,  Ute  (Lat.  parts,  of  verbs)  :  '  advo- 
cate, curate,  legate,  mandate  (Cp.  -ade)  ;  debt,  convent,  desert, 
fact,  fruit,  insect,  jet,  joint,  post,  rent,  tract,  verdict ;  spouse, 
assize,  expense,  fosse,  response,  verse ;  sauce,  source  ;  note, 
vote  ;  statute,  tribute '. 

t,  te  (Gr.  tea,  Lat.  to) :  '  apostate,  corned,  planet '. 

S-t,  ast,  ist  (the  -s-  belongs  originally  to  the  Greek  verb) 
'dikast,  enthusiasm  ;  bapt?'s£,  catechist,  Christ '.  Similar  forma- 
tions from  nouns  and  adjectives  by  -ist  are  abundant. 

t-OI,  S-OI,  01,  er  (Lat.  t-orcm,  s-orem,  Fr.  -teur,  seur,  &c.)  : 
'  creditor,  debtor,  doctor,  factor,  monitor,  victor  ;  censor, 


NOUNS    FROM    VERBS.  245 

sponsor,  successor  '.  '  Author  '  is  a  misspelling  of  Lat.  and  0.  E. 
auctor.  'Emperor,  governor,  juror,  &c. '  have  been  curtailed. 
'  Er '  has  often  usurped  the  place  of  -or  :  '  interpreter  (Lat.  in- 
terprctcitorem),  lever,  preacher,  &c.' 

t-OI-y,  S-OP-y,  or,  our,  er  (Lat.  t-or-ium,  s-or-ium;  Fr. 
-oir(e))  :  *  auditory,  dormitory,  oratory,  refectory  ;  mirror,  razor, 
scissors  ;  parloztr  ;  censer,  counter ,  laver. ' 

trum,  tre,  ter,  S-t-r  (Lat.  trum) :  '  rostrum,  spectre,  cloister, 
monster '. 

y,  ey  (Lat.  p.  part,  ata,  Fr.  4e)  :  'arm?/,  assembly,  destiny, 
entry,  jelly,  jetty,  jury,  levy,  quarry  ;  chimney,  covey,  medley  '. 

y  (Fr.  -ie) :  '  battery '. 

(2)  Expressing  action  ;  with  frequent  new  applications  to  con- 
crete  meanings. 

Native  Suffixes. — ing  (O.E.  ung :  verbal  nouns)  :  'beginnmo, 
blessing  (0.  E.  Uetsung),  cleansing,  drawing,  ending,  meeting, 
reasoning,  suffering,  writing'. 

ledge  (O.E,  lac;  see  lock,  §  8)  :  '  knowledge  (O.E.  cnaudac, 
cnowlech)'. 

ter  :  '  laughter,  slaughter  '. 

th,  t  (past  partic.  ending)  :  '  birth  (bear),  broth  (brew),  earth 
(ear,  '  to  plough '),  filth  (file),  growth,  ruth  (rue),  tilth  ;  draught, 
drift,  flight,  frost,  thought '. 

Classical  Suffixes.  —  ad,  ade,  ada,  ado  (Lat.  atus,-a:  'ad' 
for  Fr.  ade;  'ade'  Ital.  through  Fr.  ;  'ada',  'ado',  Span.)  : 
'  ballad,  salad  ;  barricade,  blockade,  escapade,  promenade, 
tirade  ;  armada  ;  bravado '. 

age  (Lat.  -aticum,  Fr.  age :  orig.  adjective  ending,  then 
collective,  finally  abstract) :  *  breakage,  carriage,  cleavage,  mess- 
age, marriage,  passage,  tillage '. 

al  (Lat.  dlis ;  cp.  age)  :  '  arrival,  committal,  denial,  re- 
moval, reversal,  revival,  upheaval,  withdrawal '. 

el,  le  (Lat.  -ela)  :  '  candte,  cauteZ,  quarrel,  tutelage '. 

Igp  (Lat.  cp.  ago,  §  8)  :  '  impetz^o,  vertigo  ;  origin  (Lat. 
orlginem). 

in,  ine-(Lat.  ma)  :  'nmt;  rapine  '. 

ment  (Lat.  mentum)  :  '  attainment,  argument,  bewilderment, 
confinement,  fulfilment,  impalement,  torment '.  New  forma- 
tions,  like  some  of  the  foregoing,  are  very  abundant.  They  all 
tend  strongly  to  be  used  in  the  concrete  application  ;  as 
'  argument,  document,  instrument,  ornament '. 

mon-y  (Gr.  and  Lat.  mon-ia,  -ium)  :  '  alimony,  harmony, 
parsimony '  (for  '  parcimony ',  from  verb  parco,  or  from  adj. 
parcus). 

nee  (See  nouas  from  Adjectives).     New  formations  from  verb 


24:6  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF    WORDS. 

roots  are  plentiful:  '  alliance,  insistance  (-ence),  remembrance, 
tarriance,  variance  ;  existence,  occurrence  '. 

01,  OUr  (Lat.  orem,  Fr.  eur)  :  'clarno«r,  error,  favour, 
honour,  labour'. 

sis,  sy,  S6  (Gv-  arid  Lat.  sis,  Fr.  sie,  se)  :  '  analysis,  basis, 
metamorphosis,  periphrasis,  thesis  ;  epilepsy,  hypocrisy,  palsy 
(paralysis),  poesy  ;  base,  dose,  ellipse,  phrase  '. 

t,  it(e),  S(e)/&c.  (see  above):  'appetife,  aud#,  credit,  habit, 
merit  ;  desert,  quest ;  applause,  course,  lapse,  use ;  access,  pro- 
cess '.  See  also  forms  in  -acy  and  -y. 

t-ion,  s-ion,  ion,  son,  som,  ation  (Lat.  -onem,  Fr.  -on}  : 

'action,  conviction,  detrition,  fiction,  lotion,  restitution, 
station ;  cession,  convulsion,  fusion,  oppression  ;  contagion, 
oblivion,  opinion,  suspicion  ;  fashion  (faction),  poiso?t  (potion), 
'reason  (ration),  season,  treason  (tradition),  venison  '.  '  Ransom' 
is  through  Fr.  from  Lat.  rcdemptionem.  The  ending  -ation 
•gives  the  appearance  of  derivation  from  verbs  of  the  -are  con- 
jugation :  *  bothera#o?i,  insultation  ' ;  and  especially  with  -fic- 
before  it  :  '  glorification,  mystification  ',  corresponding  to  verbs 
in  -fy,  '  glori/y,  mystify ',  which  modify  the  Lat,  form  -fac-  or 
-fie-  under  French  influence. 

t-ure,  S-Uie,  (Lat.  -ura ;  often  becoming  concrete)  :  '  cap- 
ture,  censure,  composure,  fissure,  gesture,  posture,  pressure  ; 
adventure,  aperture,  creature,  discomfiture,  embrasure,  failure, 
forfeiture,  lecture,  picture,  seizure,  soilure  '.  '  Armour '  (Lat. 
•amatura).  Several  words  take  this  ending  by  assimilation  : 
'  leisure,  pleasure,  treasure '. 

y,  him,  (Lat.  ium)  :  '  colloquy,  study  ;  odium '.  New 
formations  :  '  delivery,  discovery,  inquiry  ',  and  many  others. 

Compare  similar  abstracts  from  nouns. 

For  other  cases  of  -y,  see  -mon-y,  above. 

DERIVATION  OF  ADJECTIVES. 

II.  Derived  Adjectives  are  formed  from  Nouns, 
from  other  Adjectives,  and  from  Verbs. 

Nouns  are  very  largely  used  as  adjectives  without  any  change 
of  form.  Verbs  are  very  sparingly  employed  in  the  same  way. 

I.  Adjectives  are  derived  from  Nouns,  by  means 
of  Suffixes. 

Native  Suffioccs. — d,  ed  (past  partic.  ending:  'endowed, 
furnished  with ')  :  '  certificated,  feathered,  experienced,  gifted, 
moneyed,  ragged,  sainted,  skilled ',  Especially  common  when 
an  adjective  accompanies  the  noun  :  '  close-fisted,  left-handed,, 
middle-aged,  right-minded,  wrong-headed,  &c. '. 


ADJECTIVES   FROM   NOUNS.  247 

I),  en  ('of  of  'belonging  to*  ;  material)  :  'brazew,  flaxen, 
golden,  leathern,  oaken,  waxen,  wheaten,  wooden,  woollen '. 

er-n  :  '  east-er-w,  northern,  southern,  western '. 

er-ly  (compare  -ly,  below)  :  '  caster/?/,  &c.  '. 

fast  (0.  E.  fcest,  firm)  :  *  rootfast,  shamcfast  (usually  spelled 
'  fkvrtitfaeed '),  stedfast '. 

ful  :  '  awful,  careful,  gainful,  hopeful,  truthful '. 

ish  (possessing  some  leading  quality  of  the  noun  ;  attached 
to  ;  belonging  to)  :  '  bookish,  boyish,  foolish,  selfish,  slavish ; 
Englw/t,  WeM,  'Dutch '. 

less  (0.  E.  leas,  '  loose ' ;  privation  or  negation)  :  '  artless, 
cheerless,  fearless,  friendless,  lawless,  senseless,  sleepless  '. 

like,  ly  (resemblance,  likeness) :  '  childlike,  courtly,  godlike, 
lordly,  lovely,  manlike,  manly,  yearly,  warlike '. 

some  (0.  E.  -mm,  Germ,  -mm  ;  another  form  of  '  same ' ; 
possessing  the  quality  of  the  noun) :  '  adventuresome,  burden- 
some, delightsome,  handsome'. 

ward  (becoming,  turned  in  the  direction  of) :  '  homeward, 
landward,  southward'.  These  words  are  probably  to  be  con- 
sidered as  adverbs. 

y,  ey  (the  quality  of  the  noun) :  '  airy,  balmy,  cloudy, 
flowery,  foggy,  grassy,  lofty,  oily,  seedy,  silvery,  watery,  &c.  ' 

Classical  Suffixes. — able  (See  §  13):  '  fashiona&Ze,  marketable, 
objectionable,  serviceable '. 

-C,  ac,  ic,  -tic,  -ge  -(Or.  and  Lat.  -ic-,  -tic-):  'demoniac, 
maniac  ;  Britannic,  civic,  cleric,  dogmatic,  generic,  magic, 
mystic,  public,  schismatic,  strategic  ;  aquafo'c,  Asiatic,  domestic, 
fanatic,  lunatic'.  With  -ist-i  •  characterise,  fetichistic,  medium- 
istic,  ritualistic'. 

With  additional  ending  :  '  cleric- al,  magical,  mystical, 
pvagmatic-al ;  belh'e-ose  '• 

'  Savage  '  is  Lat.  silva-tic.us,  through  Fr.  sauv-age. 

-d,  id  (Gr.  eides  ;  like) :   '  alkaloid,  ovoid,  typhoid '. 

form  (Lat.  -form-is)  :  '  dendri/o^i,  penniform,  poriform '. 

-1,  al,  el,  il(e),  le,  (Lat.  -alis,  -elis,  -llis)  :  '  annua/,  capital, 
literal,  nominal,  regal  ;  additional,  professional,  regimental, 
&f .  ;  crueZ ;  civiV,  gentzVe  (gent/e,  genteel),  hostile,  jaunty, 
puerile  ;  hum-b-Ze  '.  \rery  many  adjectives  in  -al  are  converted 
into  nouns.  (See  §  8.) 

Occasionally  al  is  added  to  or  takes  the  place  of  other  endings. 
Especially  it  is  added  to  -ic  (See  above)  :  '  bibl/c-a?,  cubical, 
logic-al  ('logic  '  having  become  a  noun).  Cp.  '  celest-i-al  (Lat. 
ccel-est-is),  kst-iv-al(Lsit.fest-iv-us),  'pa.ter-n-al (Lat.  pater-nus).' 

lent  (Lat.  lentus)  :  '  corpuZen*,  fraudulent,  opulent,  somno 
lent,  turbulent '. 

n,  an,  ane,  ian  (Lat.  anus,  Fr.  an,  ain,  ainet  ten)  :  '  human, 


248  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

pagan  ;  American,  Elizabethan,  Roman  ;  \\mnane,  mundane, 
urbane  ;  Christian,  Ciceronian,  prietorian  ;  Neapolitan,  cosmo- 
politan '. 

There  are  numerous  new  formations  without  reference  to  the 
original  Latin  ending :  '  barbarian  (Lat.  -its),  Corintlii;ui, 
Etruscan,  plebeian,  Unitarian  ;  civilian  (Lat.  -is),  equestrian 
(-estris),  pedestrian  ;  Spenserian.  Walpolian  '. 

-n,  an-eous,  an-ean,  aign,  eign,  en,  (Lat.  an-eus,  Fr.  ain): 

'  contemporaneous,  spontaneous,  subterranean,  ehampair/tt, 
foreign  (older  *  foren '),  sudden '. 

-H,  ene,  ine  (Lat.  -en-,  -f?i-) :  *  terrene  ;  Nazarene  ;  adaman- 
tine,  asinine,  bovine,  divine,  equine,  feline,  marine,  saline ; 
Jugurthine '. 

-r,  ar,  ary  (Lat.  arts)  ;  '  particular,  perpendicular,  popular, 
regular,  secular  ;  military,  palmary '. 

-r,  ary,  ari-OUS,  aii-an  (Lat.  arius)  :  'arbitral?/,  custom- 
ary, hereditary,  honorary,  imaginary,  legionary,  parliamentary, 
revolutionary,  tributary  ;  gregarious,  nefarious  ;  valetudin-arz- 
an,  latitudinarian,  utilitarian '. 

686  (Lat.  ensis,  Ital.  ese)  :  '  Chinese,  Maltese  ;  Johnsonese '. 
'  Courteous '  (0.  Fr.  curteis)  has  assimilated  itself  to  -ows. 
'  Peasant '  is  Fr.  paysan,  'L&t.pagensis. 

esque,  -ice,  -is  (Lat.  iscus,  Fr.  esque:  cp.  Engl.  ish}  : 
'  arabesque,  grotesque.  Moresque  ('momce*  or  '  morris  '  dance, 
=  '  Mooris/i '),  picturesque,  statuesque  '. 

086,  OUS  (Lat.  OSMS,  Fr.  eux,  oux)  :  '  operose,  schistose, 
verbose  ;  calamity*.,  envious,  glorious,  perilous,  pernicious, 
studious,  victorious  '.  New  formations  are  abundant :  '  avari- 
cious, burglarious,  felonious,  murderous,  rapturous,  slanderous, 
uproarious,  wondrous ;  contentious,  contradictious,  disputa- 
ious,  ostentatious*. 

For  Lat.  -us  :  '  consanguineous  (Cp.  '  sanguine  '),  decorous, 
igneous,  noxious,  uxorious*. 

For  Lat.  -is  :  *  illustrious,  scurrilous '. 

Added  to  -ac-:  '  f&rin-ac-e-ous  (Lat.  -ac-e-us\  gallinaceous, 
herbaceous  '  ;  so  '  carbonaceous,  crustaceous,  pearlaceous  *.  To 
-ari.-:  '  greg-ar-i-ous  (Lat.  ar-i-us),  nefarious,  precarious '.  To 
-IC-:  '  bell-zc-ose '.  To  -fer-:  'auri^r-ows  (Lat.  -fer],  car- 
boniferous '.  To  -ger- :  '  armi-g'er-oMS  (Lat.  -ger),  plumigei  ous  *. 

'  Boisterous '  (0.  E.  bostois),  '  oourteoi^s  *  (see  ese),  and  '  right- 
eous'  (for  'right-wise',  O.E.  rihtuns],  are  assimilations. 

t  (Lat.  tus)  :  '  honest,  modest,  robust '. 

t,  ate,  ute  (on  analogy  of  participles)  :  'delicate,  dentate, 
laureate  ;  astute,  cornute '.  So,  '  affectionate,  (com-)passiouate '. 

time  (Lat.  timus)  :  '  mari^me  ;  legi^??i-ate '. 

ive  (Lat.  n?ws) :  *  festive,  furtive,  instinctive '. 


ADJECTIVES  FROM  ADJECTIVES.   '      249 

y  (Lat.  ivus,  Fr.  if]  :  'jolly,  massy  (massive),  testy'. 
y  (Lat.  -ius,  as  if  added  to  nouns  in  -tor,  -sor)  :  '  accessory, 
amatory,  hortatory,  mandatory,  persuasory '. 

12.  II.  Adjectives  are  formed  from  other  Ad- 
jectives, partly  by  Prefixes,  and  partly  by  Suffixes. 

Prefixes. — Both  Native  and  Classical  Prefixes  have  already 
(§§  2-5)  been  exemplified :  '  a-weary,  rc-one,  over-confident,  un- 
able, -dogmatic,  -wieldy,  &c.'  '  Coterminous,  demi-p&gan, 
dis- courteous,  -creditable,  -interested,  -passionate,  ?7-liberal, 
m-mutable,  Mi-attentive,  inter-colonial,  -national,  wow-sequa- 
cious, postdiluvian,  ^re-scientific,  ^reter-natural,  sw&-acid,  super- 
fine,  supra-renal,  w^ra-Catholic,  ^Ai7o-Turkish.' 

Native  Suffixes.— fold  :  'tenfold,  sixtyfold,  manifold'. 
ish  (diminutive  :  'slightly')  :  '  blackisA,  dullish'. 
ly  :  '  cleaner/,  deadly,  elderly,  goodly,   likely,  lonely,    only 
(one),  sickly,  weakly '. 

Some  :  'darksome,  irksome,  lissome  (lithe),  lonesome', 
teen  (  =  ten)  :  '  thirteen,  nineteen  '. 

th,  d  (ordinal  numbers)  :  '  fourth,  fifth,  hundred^  ;  third '. 
ty  (ten)  :  '  twenty,  thirty,  ninety '. 

Classical  Suffixes.— sad,  heart  (§8)  :  'dullard,  sweetheart, 
wizard '. 

-C,  ic(§ll).  Added  to  -ens-:  '  for-ens-ic  (Lat.  forensis  :  cp. 
•ese).  To  -est-:  (&.gr-est-ic  (Lat.  agrcstis :  cp.  'majestic'). 

ique  (Lat.  -icus,  Fr.  ique)  :  '"unique '. 

1,  al  (§  11).  Added  to  -ic  :  '  &ngel-ic-al,  canonical,  comical, 
historical,  whimsical '.  Often  the  form  in  -ic  does  not  now 
exist.  To  -id  (Gr.  -eid-,  §  11) :  '  amygdalo-id-a/,  ovoidal '.  To 
-r-H- :  'eternal  (Lat.  ceternus),  infernal,  nocturnal'.  To  -CS-t-: 
'  cvl-est-ial '  (Lat.  ccel-est-is).  To  -str-:  '  terr-es^?*-i-aZ '  (Lat. 
(-estris). 

-1,  el  (Lat.  ellus,  &c.) :  *  novel '. 

-n,  an,  ain,  &c.,  en  (Lat.  an-,  en-:  §11)  :  'mean,  tertian, 
veteran  ;  certain  ;  alien,  dozen '. 

Added  to  -ari-;  '  antiqu-ari-on,  septuagenarian  '.  To  -ic- : 
•  publ-ic-a?i ;  patr-i'c-i  an,  tribun-iciau  '.  To  -estr-:  'eqn-estr- 
ian,  pedestrian '. 

Sle,  ble  (l-^at.  -plex,   '  fold ')  :  '  simple,  double  (Lat.  duplex), 
le,  triple,  quadruple,  quintuple,  &c.' 

-r,  ar  (Lat,  aris) :  '  singular  '.     '  Similar  '  is  for  Lat.  simil-is. 
•r,  ary  (Lat.  arius)  :  '  primary,  secondary,  solitary ', 
OUS  (§  11)  :   '  precipitows,  wrongous  '. 

Added  to  -ac-,  -ic-,  -an-,  -fer-,  -ger- :  see  §  11. 


250  DERIVATION.  —  COMPOSITION    OP   WORDS. 

et,  ette  (Fr.)  :  'brunette,  dulcet,  russet'. 
-t,  ate  (§11)  :  ' aureate,  candidate  (orig.  an  adj.),  roseate; 
intim-ate,  legitim-ate '. 

13.  III.  Many  Adjectives  are  formed  from  Verbs. 

(1)  The  Participles,  imperfect  and  perfect,  of  the  Verb  are 
often  converted   into  Adjectives  :    '  a  paying  occupation ',    '  a 
roaring  lion',    'outlying  districts',  'a  seeming  discrepancy'; 

*  conquered  provinces ',   '  departed  spirits  ',    '  the  doomed  ship  '. 
'  escaped  criminals ',  '  pent-up  energy ',  *  runaway  horses ',   '  his 
bounden  duty ',  '  molten  gold  ' ;  '  w?itaught,  wncomforted,  unfed '. 

*  Uncouth  '  is  literally  '  unknown '. 

(2)  Adjectives  are  formed  from  Verbs  by  Suffixes. 

Native  Suffixes.— ful :  'forgetful,  wakeful '.     Compare  0.  E. 

•gitol,  wacol.     The  -ful  is  an  assimilation. 

le  :  'brittle,  fickle  (0.  E.^coZ,)  nimble  (0.  E.  numol) '. 

less  •  '  exhaustZess,  quenchless,  shunless  '. 

I,  er  '•  '  bitter  (bite),  slipper-?/  '. 

Some  •  '  buxom  (=  bugh-some,  from  bugan,  '  to  bow '), 
meddlesome,  noisome  (Fr.  noisir),  tiresome '. 

t  (past  partic. ) :  '  bright,  right,  swift '. 

y  :  '  blowy,  doughty  (from  dugan,  '  to  be  able,  to  prevail '), 
shaky,  sticky,  sultry  (swelter-y).' 

Classical  Suffixes.— id  (Lat.  -idus) ;    *  said,   candid,   frigid, 
humid,  rapid,  splendid,  timid,  turbid '. 
'  Keat ',  Fr.  net,  is  Lat.  nitidus. 

-1,  b-1,  bile,  able,  ible,  (i)le  (Lat.  (-6)^7^),  able  ;  mostly 

passive,  sometimes  active) :  *  mobile ;  commendable,  laudable, 
probable  ;  credible,  defensible,  horrible,  plausible,  terrible ; 
feeble  (Lat.  fle-bilis),  noble,  stable,  voluble ;  fertile,  fissile, 
fragile  (frail),  versatile  ;  able  (formerly  '^.able',  Lat.  hab-ilis)'. 
Numerous  new  formations :  '  attainable,  believable,  credible, 
changeable  (mutable),  eatable  (edible),  killable,  maintainable, 
renovable,  thinkable,  warrantable '. 

-nd,  und,  bund,  cund,  ond  (Lat  ;  gerund  form  ;  parti- 
cipial sense)  :  'fcound,  jocund,  moribund,  rotund  (round), 
rubicund,  second,  vagabond. 

nt  (Lat.  impf. part.)  :  'abundant,  distant,  constant,  dormant; 
eminent,  latent,  provident  (prudent),  urgent '. 

-I,  re  (Lat.  -r-}  :  '  clear,  dire,  meagre,  pure '. 

OUS  :  '  conscious  (Lat.  -us),  omnivorous,  superfluous, 
viviparous '. 

Added  to  -ac-  :  '  cap-ac-ious  (Lat.  ~ac-s),  fallacious,  tenacious '. 
U-OUS  (Lat.  u-us  =  mis ;  particip.  sense,  active  or  passive)  : 
'  eongrwows,  conspicuous,  deciduous,  ingenuous '..  ul-OUS  (Lat, 


ADJECTIVES  FROM  VERBS.      VERBS  FROM  NOUNS.    251 

ul-us,  prone  to  ;  participial  sense) :  '  bibulous,  credulous,  garru- 
lous, querulous,  sedulous '.  it-ious  (Lat.  ic-ius,  &c.  ;  added  to 
supine):  ' advent^ ions,  nutritious  supposititious,  surreptitious'. 

-t,  ate,  ete,  ite,  Ute,  Se  (Lat.  p.  part.) :  '  cognate,  con- 
siderate, desolate,  private  ;  complete,  concrete,  discreet,  secret  ; 
composite,  finite,  erec£,  strict  ;  acwte,  minute,  mute,  resolute  ; 
chaste  ;  close,  immense,  sparse,  tense,  terse '. 

S-or-y,  t-or-y  (Lat.  -s-or-ius,  't-or-ii(s): '  amatory,  expository, 
hortatory  ;  promissory,  sensory  '.  Compare  §  10,  and  §  11,  y, 
end. 

ive,  iff,  y  (Lat.  ivus,  -us,  Fr.  -if ;  joined  to  supines  with 
sense  of  impf.  participle,  rarely  of  p.  p.)  :  'active,  attentive, 
executive,  fugitive,  pensive,  subversive  ;  captive,  native  (naive), 
caitiff  (captive).'  Many  of  these  are  used  as  nouns.  'Bailyf, 
plaintiff '  are,  perhaps  always  nouns  now.  '  Hasty,  pursy  (Fr. 
pourcif,  poussif}.  New  formations  are  not  uncommon  :  '  com- 
bative, forgetive,  talk-at-ive '.  The  passive  application,  as  in 
Shakespeare's  '  insuppresswe  mettle  ',  is  not  to  be  encouraged. 

DERIVATION   OF  VERBS. 

14.  Derived  Verbs  are  formed  from  Nouns,  from 
Adjectives,  and  from  other  Verbs. 

Nouns  and  Adjectives  are  very  frequently  used  as  Verbs 
without  any  change. 

L  Verbs  are  derived  from  Nouns. 

(1.)  By  Prefixes,  (§§  2-5). 

(2.)  By  Suffixes. 

Native  Suffixes. — 1,  el:  'kneeZ,  muffte,  quibble  (quip), 
sparkle,  throttle '. 

-n,  en  (causative)  :  '  heighten,  lengthen,  strengthen '. 

Classical  Suffixes. — ate  (Lat.  supine,  atum)  .  'animate, 
culminate,  exaggerate,  germinate,  militate,  modulate,  populate, 
stagnate '. 

eer,  er  (Lat.  are,  ari  ;  Fr.  -er) :  '  domineer  (cp.  '  dominate  ') ; 
cuter '. 

fy  (§  15)  :  '  de-i-/y,  edify,  modify  '. 

ize,  ise,  (Gr.  izo,  Fr.  iser :  causative)  :  *  appet*X  epitomize, 
pulverize,  sermonize,  subsidize,  tantalize,  tyrannize '. 

iBhandite.     See  §16. 

(3,)  By  change,  (a)  of  Vowel,  (b)  of  Consonant,  or 
(c)  of  both. 


252  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

(a.)  'Bleed'  (blood),  'gild'  (gold). 

(b.)  '  Bulge  (bulk),  calve,  clothe,  halve,  house,  prize  (price), 
shelve,  thieve,  wreathe'. 

(3.)   '  Bathe  (bath),  breathe,  glaze,  graze  (grass),  hitch  (hook)'. 

Many  words  are  nouns  or  verbs  according  to  tlie  place  of  tfo 
accent:  'abstract, — abstract';  'Accent, — accent';  'Augment, 
— augment ' ;  ' compound,— compound  ' ;  '  conflict, — conflict '  ; 
'contrast, — contrast';  'digest,  — digest' ;  'import, — import'; 
'  subject, — subject '  ;  '  survey, — survey  ;  '  torment, — torment '. 
These  are  all  of  Latin  origin. 

It  has  also  been  seen  that  our  language  permits  the  free  con- 
version of  a  noun  into  a  verb,  and  the  opposite,  without  any 
change. 

The  general  effect  of  these  derivations  is  to  enable  the  meaning 
of  the  noun  to  become  active,  or  to  express  the  fact  of  its  being 
imparted  to  something.  The  chief  exception  is  seen  in  the 
negative  prefixes. 

15.  II.  Verbs  are  derived  from  Adjectives. 

(1.)  By  Prefixes  (§§  2-5). 

(2.)  By  Suffixes. 

Native  Suffixes. — n,  en  (causative) :'  'blacker,  fatten,  ripen, 
shorten,  sweeten '. 

-I,  er  (causative) :  '  hinder,  lower  '. 

S6  (causative)  :  '  cleanse,  rinse  (cp.  Germ,  rein,  'pure').' 

Classical  Suffixes. — ate  (Lat.  supine,  atum) :  'alienate, 
celebrate,  integrate,  participate '. 

With  formative  syllable  -it- :  '  debil-it-ate,  facilitate,  gravi- 
tate '. 

fy  (Lat.  ficare,  Fr.  fier :  causative) :  '  clar-i-/t/,  fortify,  purify, 
sanctify . ' 

ize.  is  (§14)  :  'civilize,  fertilize,  humanize,  realize'. 

ish.     See  §  16.       . 

(3.)  By  Change  of  Vowel :  '  fill '  (Ml). 

The  effect  of  this  conversion  is  almost  uniformly  to  signify  the 
imparting  of  the  quality  connoted  by  the  adjective. 

16-  III.  Verbs  are  extensively  derived  from  Verbs. 

(1.)  By  Prefixes  (§  2-5). 

(2.)  By  Suffixes. 

Native  Suffixes.—  k  (frequentative) :  '  hark  (hear),  talk  (Ml)  '. 

le  (the  same) :  'crumple  (crimp),  dazzle  (daze),  dribble  (drip), 
grapple  (grip),  straddle  (stride),  waddle  (wade)'. 

er  (diminutive  and  frequentative) :  '  batter  (beat),  flutter, 
glimmer  (gleam),  patter  (pat),  sputter 


FORMATION   OF   VERBS   AND   ADVERBS.  253 

Classical  Suffixes. — ate  (Lat.  supine,  atum)  •.  'create,  dictate, 
instigate,  migrate,  navigate '. 

With  formative  syllable  -it-  (frequentative) :  '  ag-it-ate, 
cogitate,  hesitate,  palpitate'. 

esce,  ish  (Lat.  -escere;  Fr.  -iss-  (Lat.  ~iso,  -esc-)  in  verbs  in 
.ir,  Lat.  -ire :  growing  or  tending  to)  :  '  coalesce,  effervesce  ; 
abolish,  languish,  perish,  ravish,  relinquish '. 

A  step  further  back  would  sometimes  bring  us  to  nouns : 
'famish,  finish,  punish';  or  to  adjectives:  'flourish,  cherish, 
diminish,  embellish,  establish,  replenish '. 

ge  (Lat.  -ware,  Fr.  ger):  'chargre,  judge,  -venge'. 

it,  ite  (Lat.  supine  ztum) :  '  edit ;  expedite,  ignite '.  The 
Latin  forms  of  the  two  last  are  from  noun  roots. 

(3.)  By  modifying  tJie  Vowels,  or  Consonants,  or  both :  'drip 
(drop),  fell  (fall),  roost  (rest),  raise  (rise),  reel  (roll),  set  (sit) 
snuff  (sniff),  dodge  (dog),  blench  (blink),  dredge  (drag),  drench 
(drink),  twitch  (tweak),  watch  (wake),  wrench  (wring)'.  Most 
of  these  derivatives  are  causative  verbs. 

(4.)  By  postfixing  Adverbs  and  Prepositions:  as  'findow^', 
*  pluck  out ',  '  bear  with  ',  '  bring  in  ',  '  fall  in  ',  '  climb  up ', 
'  heave  to  ',  '  despair  of.  •  These  postfixed  words  are  to  be  con- 
gidered  in  many  cases  as  part  of  the  verb,  although  not  only  not 
fused  with  it,  like  the  ordinary  suffixes,  but  susceptible  of  being 
removed  to  a  distance  by  the  object  coming  between  :  '  find  hiin 
out ',  '  pluck  it  out '.  '  bring  the  messenger  in  ',  '  send  the  things 
away '.  They  often  acquire  a  meaning  not  explained  by  the 
separate  meanings  of  the  parts :  '  find  out  '  is  no  more  to  be 
parsed  as  two  words  than  '  invent '.  Moreover,  we  find  verbal 
nouns  formed  from  them  :  '  the  looker  on  ',  '  entrance  in r, 
'goings  out ',  '  the  climber  upward  ' — (Shakespeare).  We  may 
have  two  different  meanings  from  the  same  constituents  differ- 
ently placed  :  as  '  overcome  ',  '  come  over '. 

To  sum  up  ;  in  deriving  verbs  from  verbs,  we  have  sometimes 
little  more  than  a  synonyme  ('arise ') ;  in  other  cases,  a  diminutive, 
or  frequentative  force  ;  and  in  some  instances  an  intensive  effect. 
The  causative  verbs  are  a  distinct  class.  Among  the  most  import- 
ant derivatives  are  those  that  negative  in  some  way  or  other  the 
meaning  of  the  simple  verb. 

DERIVATION   OF  ADVERBS. 

17.  Adverbs    are    formed    principally    from 
Adjectives  and  Nouns. 

(1.)  By  Prefixes,  These  have  already  been  exemplified  (§  2-5)  : 
*«-bed,  -ground,  -head;  awry;  a-dowii  ;  alone,  -so ;  fc.fore, . 


254  DERIVATION.  —  COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

-hind,  -sides,  -times  ;  w-ever  ;  -or  ;  to-day,  -night;  underground  '. 
'  apart,  across  ;  per-ad  venture  -chance,  -haps  '. 


(2.)  By  Native  Suffixes. 

ly  is  now  by  far  the  principal  ending  whereby  adverbs  are 
derived  from  adjectives:  '  careful^/,  gently  (for  'gentle-ly  '), 
honestly,  hopelessly,  probably  (for  '  probable-ly  '),  smoothly, 
swiftly  '. 

Also  from  participles  :  '  beseechingly,  confidingly,  disappoint- 
ingly,  falteringly,  perplexingly  ;  unflinchingly  ;  decidedly, 
disconnectedly,  pointedly  ;  unweariedly  '. 

From  nouns  :  *  hapfo/,  purposely  ;  month??/,  weekly  '. 

ling,  long  :  *  darkZm#,  flatting  ;  headlong  '. 

meal  (division)  :   '  limbmeal,  piecemeal  '. 

Ward,  Wards  :  '  downward^),  forward  (s)  (=  fortA-w 
outward  (s)'.     '  Froward'  and  'wayward'  are  adjectives. 

way,  way-S  :  '  straightway,  noways  '. 

wise  •  '  likewise,  otherwise  '. 

Various  inflexional  endings  may  also  be  noted  : 

Genitives  end  in  s,  CS,  S6,  C6  :  '  always,  besides,  betimes, 
needs,  nowadays,  unawares,  upwards  ;  else  (0.  E.  ettes)  ;  onc0, 
twice,  thrice  (older  ones,  twies,  thries}  '. 

The  -t  in  some  words  of  this  class  is  an  accretion  :  '  amidst, 
amongst,  betwixt,  whilst  ',  for  '  amiddes  ',  &c. 

Datives  :  *  seldom,  whilom  (0.  E.  -um)  '.  In  Oldest  English, 
the  adv.  was  formed  from  the  corresponding  adjective  by  adding 
-e—  a  dative  suffix  :  fast  ('  fast  '  :  adj.),  fasst-e  ('  fast  '  :  adv.). 

Accusatives  :  '  alway,  noway,  otherwise,  sometime,  back- 
ward ;  then,  than  '. 

Instrumental  :  '  the  (with  comparatives),  thus  (this),  how, 
why'. 

'  Here,  there,  where,  hither,  thither,  whither  ',  are  locatives 
from  pronominal  roots.  '  Hertcc,  thence,  whence  ',  seem  to 
combine  a  locative  and  a  genitive  suffix  :  -n-  -j-  -ce  (=  es~). 

Setting  aside  the  regular  formation  in  '  ly  ',  and  the  instances 
of  inflexional  endings,  the  remaining  adverbs  are  really  phrases. 
One  leading  class  shows  a  union  of  preposition  (chiefly  '  a  ')  and 
noun  :  '  a-sleep,  fo-sides,  ^er-chance  '.  Others  show  an 
adjective  and  a  noun  coalescing,  the  preposition  being  absent  : 
'  noway,  otherwise  '. 

DERIVATION   OF   PREPOSITIONS. 

18.  The  chief  Prepositions  are  primitive  words  of  the 
English  language,  and  have  corresponding  forms  in  the 
other  languages  of  the  Indo-European  family  :  '  at,  by, 
fo:-,  in,  of,  on,  to,  \vith  '. 


PREPOSITIONS    AND   CONJUNCTIONS.  255 

In  '  from  ',  the  -m  is  a  superlative  ending. 

Comparative  endings  appear  in  a  few  prepositions  :  '  sifter  (a/ 
—  of,  '  from  ')  ;  over  (0.  E.  of-er,  from  root  of  of)  ;  under 
(compare  Lat.  inter :  from  in).  Also  in  'ere'  (0.  E.  ce-r 
1  earlier,  before '). 

'  To-ward(s)  'is  'in  the  direction  of ',  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated by  '  to '. 

A  large  number  of  prepositions  are  really  shortened  phrases  : 
'  amid(st),  beside,  behind,  &c.  ' ;  —  in  the  midst  (=  middes-t, 
mid  being  adj.  and  t  an  accretion)  of,  'by  the  side  of,  &c. 
1  Like,  near,  next,  &c.  '  are  adjectives  practically  used  as 
prepositions,  through  the  omission  of  '  to ' :  '  like  to  ',  '  near  to ', 
&c. 

Participles  :  '  notwithstanding,  owing  to  '. 

Classical  Prepositions.  Simple  :  '  per,  pro,  sans  '.  '  Across  ' 
is  a  shortened  phrase.  '  Maugre,  minus,  round ',  adjectives. 
The  chief  instances  are  originally  participles :  '  concerning, 
during,  excepting,  regarding,  touching  ;  except(ed),  past,  save'. 

DERIVATION   OF   CONJUNCTIONS. 

19.  A  very  few  are  simple  words  of  the  language  : 
*  and,  if,  that '. 

Nearly  all  the  words  that  serve  as  Conjunctions  are 
appropriated  from  other  parts  of  speech,  chiefly  and 
more  immediately  from  the  Adverb  and  the  Pre- 
position. 

Adverbial  conjunctions  :  '  also,  likewise,  then,  further,  still, 
only,  therefore,  accordingly,  else,  because,  since,  as,  when'. 

'  Or,  nor ',  are  condensations  of  '  other  or  either  ',  '  nother  or 
neither '. 

Prepositional  conjunctions  :  '  but,  for,  except,  after,  before, 
until '.  And  some  of  these  are  fundamentally  adverbial. 

20.  Of  all  the  purposes  of  forming  derivatives,  none 
is  of  more  consequence  than  the  signifying  of  nega- 
tion, contrariety,  or  opposition. 

After  expressing  a  thing,  quality,  or  action,  we  need  to  have 
the  means  of  expressing  the  absence  or  negation  of  the  thing. 
This  has  been  largely  provided  for  in  our  system  of  Prefixes  and 
Suffixes,  but  still  not  adequately  ;  and  it  is  useful  to  know  the 
circumlocutions  that  are  in  reserve  when  these  fail  us. 

The  chief  prefixes  are,  '  dis,  in,  mis,  n,  non,  re,  un  ',  and  the 
suffix  is  '  less '.  The  employment  of  these  has  been  capriciously 


256  DEEIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

limited  ;  but  the  use  of  negative  prefixes  to  nouns  is  slowly 
reviving.  Tennyson  uses  '  rf&fame,  wmfaith,  unMfh,  u*- 
charity',  &c. 

In  some  cases  we  have  separate  words  for  the  opposite  of  a 
meaning  :  *  Light,  dark  '  ;  '  hot,  cold  ' ;  '  light,  heavy '  ;  'hard, 
soft '  ;  '  rich,  poor  '  ;  '  industrious,  idle '  ;  '  north,  south  '  ; 
'  pleasure,  pain  ;  '  action,  passion  '  ;  '  clever,  stupid '  ;  '  seeing, 
blind '. 

In  technical  and  scientific  language  we  can  prefix  '  not '.  To 
signify  all  colours  except  white,  we  may  say  '  not- white  ' ; 
'  me.  not-me  ',  '  round,  not-round  '. 

The  chief  circumlocutions  are  seen  in  such  examples  as  the 
following  : — '  That  was  the  very  opposite  (or  reverse)  of  candour' : 
4  that  would  be  anything  but  reasonable  '  ;  '  very  far  from 
reasonable  '  ;  '  his  conduct  showed  a  great  want  (absence)  of 
selfishness  '.  These  forms  are  often  used  to  avoid  the  harshness 
of  the  other  more  direct  negative  forms  :  '  to  relate  disagreeable 
truths  of  a  neighbour  is  far  from  innocent '  ;  so,  *  far  from 
pretty  '  is  softer  than  '  ugly  '  ;  '  a  great  want  of  consideration  ' 
is  hardly  so  strong  as  '  inconsiderate  '. 

21.  Modified  Forms. 

The  following  are  examples  of  shortened  forms :  '  aim  '  (0.  Fr< 
esmer,  Lat.  cestimare,  '  to  estimate '),  '  alms  '  (Gr.  HlfeinZsyrte, 
0.  E.  celmesse),  'ant'  (0.  E.  cemet,  'emmet'),  'binnacle'  (formerly 
'bittacle';  Fr.  habitacle,  Lat.  habitaculum) ;  'brig'  (brigantine), 
'bus*  (omnibus),  'cab'  (cabriolet),  'cad'  (cadger),  'change'  (ex- 
change), 'censer'  (incense),  'cess',  (asses),  'cit'  (citizen),  'con' 
(for  'contra',  in  'pro  and  con'),  'consols'  (consolidated 
moneys),  'coz' (cousin),  'drawing-room' (%'^/idrawing),  'dropsy' 
(formerly  '  hydropisy  '  ;  from  Gr.  hy drops,  from  hydor  'water  ') ; 
'furl'  ('fardel',  bundle  up);  'jury-mast,  -rudder'  (injury); 
'  larceny  '  (Lat.  latrocinium)  ;  '  limn '  (illuminate),  '  lone  ' 
(alone),  '  miss '  (mistress),  '  mite  '  (minute),  mob  (0.  E.  mobile, 
Lat.  mobile  (vulgus),  '  easily  moved,  fickle '),  '  parrot '  (Fr. 
perroquefy  '  phiz  '  (physiognomy),  '  prentice  '  (apprentice), 
'  print '  (imprint  ;  Fr.  empreinte,  '  impression  ',  imprimer, 
'print';  ~Lat.im  primere)  ;  'purl'  (purfle,  Fr.  pourfilcr,  'to 
overcast  with  gold  thread '),  '  sir  '  (Fr.  sire,  sieur,  Lat.  senior), 
1  size  '  (assize),  'spite  '  (despite),  '  sport'  (desport),  '  store  '  (Fr. 
cstorer,  Lat.  instnurare)  ;  '  tire-woman  '  (attire)  ;  '  story  ' 
(history),  'vail'  (avail),  'van'  (caravan),  'ware'  (aware), 
'  wig  '  (for  '  periwig ',  itself  a  corruption  of  '  peruke  ',  Fr. 
perruque). 

Frequently  a  word  is  assimilated  to  a  more  familiar  form,  or 
otherwise  changed  :  '  acorn  (0.  E.  ceccrn,  '  of  the  oak '  ;  as  if 


COMPOUND    WORDS.  257 

'  oak-corn')  ;  *  beaver*  (Lat.  fiber  ;  transposition  of  consonants)  ; 
'  cartridge  '    (corruption   of    Fr.    cartouche ;    as    '  porridge '   of 

*  pottage',   'estridge*  of   'ostrich')  ;    'corporal'  (Fr.  caporal, 
Lat.  caput ;  not  connected  with  corpus) ;    *  coy  '  (Fr.  eoi,  Lat. 
quietus)  ;  *  curse '  (in  '  not  care  a  curse ',  is  for  kers,  an  older 
form  of  '  cress ')  ;    *  cutlet '  (Fr.  cotelette,  dim.  from  cote,  Lat. 
costa,    '  r^^^Xl  '  daffodil '  (asphodel)  ;  *  ewer '  (O.  E.  hwer,  Fr. 
aiguiere,    from   aigue,  Lat.    aqua,   l  water ')  ;    '  lias '    (layers) 
'nonce'  ('n*  belongs  to  the  inflexion  of  the  demonstr.  adj.  : 
'  for  thaw  anes');   'oakum'  (0.   E.  acumba,  cemba;    'what  is 
combed ',  *  tow  ')  ;  '  pox '  (pocks)  ;  '  saveloy '  (Fr.  cervelas,  from 
cervelle,   Lat.  cerebellum,   'brains');  'tansy'  (Fr.  tanaisie,  Gr. 
athanasia,    'immortality');  'whack'  (thwack);  'wherry'  (ferry). 

Further  examples  of  shortening,  assimilation,  and  other 
varieties  of  change  may  be  seen  under  the  Prefixes,  or  may  be 
gathered  by  careful  observation  in  the  course  of  using  the 
etymological  dictionary. 

Compound  Words. 

22.  Compound  words  are  those  that  are  made 
up  of  simple  words  of  independent  significance ;  as 
'  day -star ',  '  sun-beam ',  '  free-man  ',  '  rose-tinted  ', 

*  stout-hearted ',  *  Commander-in-chief '. 

As  a  general  rule  the  first  word  qualifies  the  second.  *  Finger- 
ring '  is  a  ring  for  the  finger;  '  rwgr- finger'  is  the  finger  that 
wears  the  ring.  A  '  rose-tree'  is  a  tree  of  the  kind  that  grows 
roses  ;  a  *  tree-rose '  is  a  rose  of  the  kind  that  grows  on  trees. 
A  '  ground-n\Lt '  is  a  nut  growing  in  the  ground  ;  a  '  niU-groand.' 
is  a  ground  for  producing  nuts, 

A  change  of  accent  is  usually  required  to  make  two  words  into 
a  compound  word.  The  crow  is  a  '  black  bird  ',  not  a  'black- 
bird ' ;  a  '  r£d  house '  is  a  house  that  is  red.  A  '  mad  house  ' 
would  be  a  family  all  gone  deranged  ;  but  a  '  mad-house  '  is  a 
house  for  receiving  mad  persons. 

4  Lay  thy  bow  of  pearl  apart 
And.  thy  silver  sJiininy  quiver.' 

This  is  either  '  thy  shining  quiver  made  of  silver '  (silver 
shining),  or  '  thy  quiver  shining  like  silver '  (silver-shining). 
Euphony  may  sometimes  interfere  with  this  rule ;  as  '  monks- 
hood  ',  '  well-head ',  '  hop-pole  ',  which  can  hardly  avoid  accent 
on  both  members. 

Those  compound  words  are  often  connected  with  the  hyphen. 
The  compound  with  the  hyphen  enables  us  to  express  a 
distinction,  seeu  in  comparing  ' horse-hair '  with  '  a  torse's 
17 


258  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

hair  ' ;    the  one  is  the  material,  without  regard  to  quantity : 
the  other  the  hair  of  one  horse. 

23.  Composition  of  Nouns.  Nouns  are  combined 
with  near! a  all  the  other  Parts  of  Speech  ;  and  in  a  few 
cases  compound  nouns  are  formed  by  union  of  two 
words  belonging  to  other  parts  of  speech. 

Nouns  with  Nouns. — '  Birthday,  churchyard,  coffeehouse, 
coppersmith,  cornfield,  handbook,  moonlight,  rosebud '.  To 
these  we  should  add  '  drawing-room,  resting-place,  riding- whip, 
turning-lathe,  walking-stick ',  as  the  words  'drawing',  'riding', 
&c.,  are  verbal  equivalents  to  nouns.  In  'self-love',  'self'i. 
substantially  a  noun. 

Sometimes  a  genitive  case-ending  is  retained :  '  craft-s-man, 
herdsman,  kinsman,  landsman  (compare  'sea-man')  ;  catspaw ; 
deathshead  ;  Thursday  '.  '  Cynosure '  (=  dog's  tail). 

In  *  Jack-o'-lantern ',  '  Will-o'-the- Wisp  ',  'of  is  retained. 
'Catamount  is  a  corruption  of  'cat  o'  mountain'.  Compare 
'  aide-de-camp,  corduroy  (Fr.  corde  du  roi,  '  king's  cord  ') ',  &c. 

Nouns  with  Adjectives :  '  fortnight,  goodwill,  greensward, 
highland,  highway,  hotbed,  midday,  redbreast,  stronghold'. 

Nouns  with  Verbs:  'cutwater,  daredevil,  makeshift,  pick- 
pocket, singsong,  spendthrift,  spitfire,  stopgap,  turncoat '.  In 
these  words  the  verb  governs  the  noun,  and  the  meaning  is  some 
person  or  thing  that  performs  the  action  indicated.  The  same 
meaning  is  expressed  in  another  class  of  words  by  adding  '  er  ' 
to  the  compound  :  '  landowner,  peacemaker,  shipbuilder, 
stockbroker,  talebearer '.  By  suffixing  '  ing  '  the  act  is  ex- 
pressed :  '  shipbuilding ',  &c.  A  verb  preceded  by  a  noun  is 
rare  ;  as  '  godsend  '.  '  Bloodshed '  is  participle  joined  to  noun  ; 
.so  are  '  ormolu ',  '  treasure-trove  '.  '  Bakehouse  '  exemplifies 
yet  another  combination :  so  '  washhouse,  drawbridge,  draw- 
well,  grindstone,  &c,  '.  Cp.  '  scape-goat '. 

Noun*  with  Adverbs:  'by- play,  by-word,  forethought,  in- 
gathering, instep,  lockup,  onset,  out-going,  outlaw,  out-rider, 
sundown,  up-rising '.  These  adverbs  are  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  same  words  used  as  prepositions,  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
following  class. 

Nouns  with  Prepositions :  '  forenoon,  afternoon '.  In  these 
the  noun  is  under  government  by  the  preposition.  In  '  after- 
thought', the  meaning  of  'after'  is  adverbial,  something 
'  thought  after '. 

Pronoun  and  Adjective  :  '  nonesuch '. 


COMPOUND    NOUNS    AI  D   ADJECTIVES.  259 

Adverb  and  Verb:  'outlay,  thoroughfare'.     Verb  preceding: 
1  breakdown,  cast-away,  drawback,  pinafore,  run-away  '. 
Verb  and  Verb  :  '  hear-say,  hobnob,  make-believe  '. 
Verb  and  Preposition  :  '  go-between  '. 

24.  Composition  of  Adjectives.  The  chief  ele- 
ments are  Adjectives  and  Participles,  with  Nouns  and 
(occasionally)  with  Adverbs. 

Noun  and  Adjective* — 'Bloodred,  child-like,  fancy-free,  heart- 
whole,  pitch-dark,  sea-green,  snow-white '.  The  noun  in  most 
of  these  instances  adds  its  meaning  to  or  defines  the  adjective : 
'  as  red  as  blood',  'green  like  the  sea ',  &c.  In  'headstrong, 
heart-whole,  sinful',  the  noun  is  the  subject  of  reference : 
'  whole  as  regards  the  heart '.  Numeral  and  the  noun  '  fold ' : 
'  twofold '. 

Adjective  and  Adjective  -.  '  pale-blue  (blue  of  a  pale  shade), 
red-hot  (so  hot  as  to  be  red) '. 

Noun  and  Imperfect  Participle:  'all -seeing,  fruit-bearing, 
heart-breaking,  spirit-stirring,  truth-telling  '.  The  noun  is  the 
object  of  the  transitive  participle.  It  is  an  adverbial  adjunct  to  the 
intransitive  participle  :  '  night-walking '  is  '  walking  by  night '. 

Noun  and  Past  Participle  :  '  awe-struck,  coal-laden,  heart- 
felt, home-grown,  moss-grown,  moth-eaten,  sea-born(e), 
tempest-tossed,  thunder-riven,  terror-stricken,  vine-clad, 
weather-beaten,  woe-begone  '. 

In  all  such  cases  the  noun  is  really  adverbial,  being  the  sole 
representative  of  an  adverbial  phrase  :  '  awe-struck '  is  '  struck 
with  awe ' ;  '  home-grown '  is  '  growu  at  home  ',  '  ice-built 
mountains '  are  '  mountains  built  of  ice'.  In  ' chapfallen  ',  the 
participle  may  agree  with  the  noun,  or  the  noun  may  be  regularly 
adverbial. 

Adjective  (complement)  and  Imperfect  Participle :  '  clear- 
sounding,  simple-seeming,  stern-looking '. 

Adjective  or  Participle  and  Adverb. — 'All-powerful,  far- 
fetched, high-born,  highly-wrought,  inbred,  overcharged,  over- 
done, well-bred,  well-meant  '. 

Verb  and  Noun. — '  Break-neck  (speed),  do-nothing  (days)  '. 
Compounds  with  '  ed  ',  simulating  participles  : 
Noun  and  Noun  :   '  hook-nosed,  lion-hearted,  ox-eyed,  '. 
^  Adjective    and  Noun :    '  able-bodied,    bandy-legged,     four- 
sided,     long-headed,      Roman-nosed,      sober-minded,      warm- 
hearted, weak-kneed'. 


260  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

25.  Composition  of  Verbs. 

Noun  and  Verb  •.  '  back-bite,  brow-beat,  way -lay '. 

Adjective  (complement)  and  Verb :  '  ful-fil,  rough-hew, 
safeguard,  vouchsafe,  white-wash  '. 

Adverb  and  Verb :  '  cross-question,  doff  (do  off),  don,  fore- 
tell, gain -say '. 

26.  Composition  of  Adverbs. 
Noun  and  Noun  :  '  length-ways  ',  '  sideways '. 

Adjective  and  Noun:  'always,  likewise,  otherwise,  some- 
times, straigh  tway '. 

Adverb  and  Adverb :  *as(=al-so),  whereas,  thenceforward'. 

Adverb  and  Preposition  :  '  hereupon,  whereby,  whereof '. 

Adjective  and  Adverb  :  '  nowhere,  somehow '. 

Complex  compounds:  nevertheless,  notwithstanding,  more- 
over. 

27.  Prepositions  are  compounded  of  one  another : 
1  into  ',  '  within  ',  '  without ',  '  upon  ',  *  throughout '. 

'But'  (as  adverb,  preposition,  or  conjunction)  is  compounded 
of  '  by '  (be)  and  '  out '  (like  the  Scotch  phrase  '  out  by '). 
Originally  it  signified  closeness  with  separation,  and  its  various 
meanings  are  in  accordance  with  this. 

28.  Compounds,   disguised   and  assimila- 
ted. 

Many  words  that  are  really  compound  have  lost  the  appear- 
ance of  compounds,  and  look  like  simple  words  ;  and  in  other 
cases,  a  simple  word  has  been  corrupted  into  a  compound  form ; 
and  it  often  happens  that  one  or  both  parts  of  a  real  or 
simulated  compound  have  been  assimilated  to  some  other 
(probably  better  known)  words,  with  which,  however,  they 
have  no  radical  connexion. 

*  Apricot '  (older  '  apricock  ',  Fr.  abricot,  Lat.  (malum)  prce- 
cox,  '  early  ripe  (apple) ')  ;  *  as '  (0.  E.  als,  alse,  eall-swa, 
'  al-so  ') ;  '  ballast '  (0.  E.  bat-last,  '  boat-load ') ;  '  barley  '  (§  8, 
1>  (3),  (c))  ;  'barn '•(().  E.  berern,  (bere-cern',  'bere-place  or 
barley -house  ')  ;  '  bice  '  or  '  bise '  (for  0.  E.  asure-bice,  Fr. 
bes-azur,  'an  inferior  blue');  'biscuit'  (Fr.,  from  Lat.  bis 
coctus,  'twice  cooked');  'bridal'  (O.  E.  bryd-ealu,  'bride-ale  01 
-feast');  'burglar'  (Fr.  burglaire,  Lat.burgi-latro,  '  burg-  01 
house-robber ')  ;  '  bustard  '  (Sp.  dbutarda,  Fr.  ou(s}tarde,  Lat. 
avis-tarda,  '  slow  bird  ')  ;  '  chaffer  '  (chap-fare,  '  way  or  course 

_(fare)  of  bargaining   (chap,    0.    E.    ceap)');  'constable'   (Fr. 

"conne'table,  Ital.  coneetabile,  Lat.  comes  stabuli,  'count  of  the 


COMPOUNDS   IN   DISGUISE.  261 

stable  ',  '  master  of  the  horse  ')  ;  '  cormorant '  (Fr.  ;  Ital.  corvo 
marmo,  'sea-crow');  'coverlet'  (Fr.  couvre-lit,  'cover-bed': 
not  a  dim.  from  'cover');  'curfew'  (Fr.  couvre-feu,  'cover- 
fire');  '  daisy '  ('  day's-eye  ')  ;  'every'  (0.  E.  cefer-celc,  'ever- 
each');  '  futtocks '  ('foot-hooks',  or  'foot-locks');  'gospel 
(0.  E.  god-spell,  'good  news')  ;  'gossamer'  ('  God's-summer ') ; 
'gossip'  (0.  E.  god-sib,  '  God- related ',  orig.  'sponsor'); 
'gozzard*  (=  goose-herd);  'greatling  fishery'  (great  line)  ; 
'groundsel  (0.  E.  grund-swelige,  'ground-dwelling  or -covering' 
plant);  '  groundsil ',  'grunsel'(0.  E.  grund-syl,  '  ground -sill ' 
or  -base,  threshold)  ;  '  halliards  '  (or  '  halyards ',  that  is  '  haul- 
'  yards');  'handsel'  (0.  E.  hand-selan  or  -syllan,  'hand  -to 
give');  '  heifer '  (0.  E.  hca-fore,  'stall-cow');  'huzzy'  (0.  E. 
hus-wif,  '  house-wife  ') ;  '  icicle  '  {0.  E.  is-gicel,  '  ice-congealed 
lump,  -cone':  cp.  Germ,  kegel)  ;  'janizary'  (Turkish  yeni- 
ischeri,  'new-troops');  'jeopardy'  (Fr.  jeu  parti,  Lat.  jocus 
partitus,  '  a  divided  game,  an  even  chance  ')  ;  'julep  '  or  ' julap ' 
(Arab,  julab,  Pers.  (tul-ab,  'rose-water');  'kerchief  (Fr., 
couvrc-ch(i)efy  '  cover-head ')  ; '  lady '  and  '  lord  '  (See  INFLEXION, 
Gender,  §  3)  ;  '  lammas '  (0.  E.  hlaf-mcesse,  '  loaf-mass,  or 
-feast');  'lamprey'  (Fr.  lamproie,  Lat.  lampetra,  'lambo- 
petra  ',  '  lick-rock  ') ;  '  liquorice '  (Gr.  ghjlcijrrhiza,  glykys- 
rhiza,  '  sweet- root ');  'lute'  (Arab,  al-'  ud,  'the  wood'); 
'  manure  '  (=  '  manoeuvre  ',  Fr.  ;  from  mainceuvre,  Lat.  manus- 
opcra,  '  hand- work  ')  ;  '  marshal  '  (0.  H.  Germ,  marcih-scalh, 
'horse-servant',  0.  Yr.mareschal:  compare  'seneschal', senc-sccdh, 
'old  servant');  '  midriff '  (0.  E.  mid-lirif,  'mid-body')  ;  'mole' 
(0.  E.  mold-weorp,  'mould-thrower')  ;  'neighbour'  (0.  E.  nca/i- 
bur,  'near-dweller');  'nostril'  (O.E.  nasihyrla,  nosc-thyrel  or 
-thril,  'nose  -doorlet  (cp.  Germ,  thur-le,  nose- hole) ');  '  oleander' 
(corruption  of  ' rhodo-dendron ');  'orchard'  (O.E.  ort-yard,  ort- 
geard,  wyrt  (wort)-geard,  'root-  or  herb-  -arden')  ;  'osprey'  (Fr. 
orfraie;  a  corruption  of  ossifrage,  Lat.  ossifraga,  'bone-breaker')  ; 
'pastime'  ('pass-time');  'porcupine'  (Ital.  porco-spinoso, 
Lat.  porcus  spinosus,  'thorny,  prickly  hog');  'porpoise', 
'  porpess  '  (Ital.  porco  pesce,  Lat.  porcus-piscis,  'hog(like)-fish ') ; 
'  prince  '  (Fr.  ;  Lat.  princeps,  from  primus- capio}  ;  '  prithee  ' 
•('I-pray-thee ')  ;  'quandary'  (Fr.  qu'  en  dirai-jef  '  what  shall  I 
say  of  it  ? ')  ;  '  samphire  '  (corruption  of  Fr.  Saint  Pierre,  the 
herb  of  St.  Peter)  ;  '  scabbard  '  (0.  E.  scaubcrk  :  Icel.  skafa- 
biarga  (Germ,  bergen},  '  scraper  (sharp  instrument) -to  hide'); 
'  scaffold  '  (0.  Fr.  eschafaud,  escadnfaut,  orig.'  a  platform,  whence 
to  see  a  tourney,  Lat.  scadnfaltiim,  from  ex  and  cndfifaUiun, 
Ital.  catafalco,  from  Romance  catar,  '  to  view,  look ',  and 
Teutonic  falco,  'a  planking')  ;  'sheriff'  (0.  E.  scirfej-g.'.r.fa, 
'  shire-reeve,  district-  or  county -governor ')  ;  '  steward  (0.  E. 


262  DERIVATION. — COMPOSITION    OF   WORDS. 

sti  (Icel.  stia)-weard,  '  sty-ward ',  '  domestic  affairs-manager ') ; 
'  stirrup  '  (0.  E.  stifgej-rap,  '  mounting  -rope ')  ;  '  such  '  (p. 
50,  §  4) ;  '  tawdry  '  (said  to  be  for  /£.  Awdrey,  St.  Etheldreda] ; 
'threshold'  (0.  E.  threscivald,  threswold,  '  threshwood ')  ; 
'  vamp  '  (Fr.  avant-pied)  •  '  vinegar '  (Fr.  vin-aigre,  '  sour- 
wine ');  'viper'  (Lat.  vipera,  for  iiivi-pera,  from  vivus-pario 
'  bring  forth  -alive  ')  ;  '  walrus '  (Germ,  wallross  •  from  wal,  as 
in  '  whale  ',  Germ,  icallfcsch,  and  hross,  '  a  horse  ')  ;  '  warlock  ' 
(O.E.  wcer-locja,  'treaty-breaker  or  -liar')  ;  'wassail'  (0. E.  icces 
heel,  '  be  of  (good)  health  ',  '  your  good  health ! ') ;  '  which '  (p.  33, 
§  13)  ;  '  whisky  '  (Kelt,  uisye-beatha,  '  water  of  life  ') ;  '  window ' 
(Icel.  windauga,  'wind-eye');  'woman'  (O.E.  wifmari). 

'Beef-eater'  (corruption  of  Fr.  buffetier,  one  that  attends  at 
the  buffet  or  sideboard)  ;  '  causeway '  (or  '  causey ' :  Fr.  chausdc, 
Lat.  calceata)',  'Charter-house'  (Fr.  Chartreuse,  'Carthusian 
monastery');  'crayfish'  or  'crawfish'  (Fr.  e.crevisse,  Germ. 
krebiz,  krcbs) ;  '  lanthorn '  (former  spelling  of  '  lantern  ')  ; 
'  lanyard  '  (or  '  laniard ' ;  Fr.  laniere,  '  thong  ') ;  '  pent-house  ' 
(0.  E.  pentice,  Fr.  appcntis,  'sloping  shed'  ;  as  if  from  'pente- 
house',  'slope-house');  '  pickaxe '  (0.  E.  pikois\  the  ending 
assimilated  to  'axe');  'rakehell'  (0.  E.  rakel,  rakle,  'rover, 
rioter ')  ;  '  runagate  '  (for  '  renegate,  renegade ')  ;  '  sparrow- 
grass  '  (for  'asparagus').  In  Scotch,  'misdemeanours' 
sometimes  become  '  rnisty  manners ',  and  '  colocynth  pills  ',  in 
one  district  at  least,  are  called  '  Collieston  pills '. 

'Bandog'  (=  'band-dog',  chained  dog);  'Bedlam' 
('Bethlehem');  'belfry'  (Fr.  bcfroi;  0.  Fr.  berfroi,  Lat. 
bcrfrcdus,  belfrcdus ;  Germ,  bervrit,  bercvrit,  '  watch-tower, 
tower  for  defence ' ;  berg-  or  burg-  friede,  from  bcrgen-fricden 
'  to  protect-  to  watch  or  defend  ') ;  '  Billy  Ruffian '  (Bellerophon) ; 
'blunderbuss'  (Dutch  donderbus,  3erm.  donncrbiichse,  'thunder- 
gun  ')  ;  '  brimstone  '  (=  0.  E.  bren-ston,  '  burn-stone ') ; 
'buckwheat'  ( '  foecA-wheat '  ;  cp.  Germ,  buch-weitzen ')  ; 
'carnival'  (given  as  carne-m  vale,  'farewell  to  flesV '..  and  also 
as  carnis  levamen,  '  solace  of  the  flesh  ')  ;  '  catamount '  (§  23)  ; 
'  chance-medley '  (for  Fr.  chaudc-melee,  '  a  hot  fight  or  affray  ') ; 
'  checkmate '  (Fr.  e'chcc  et  mat,  Germ,  schactmatt,  Pers.  shah 
mat,  'the  king  is  dead'.  Assimilated  to  verb  'check'); 
'  claymore  '  (Gael.  =  '  sword-great ') ;  '  cockchafer  '  (=  '  clock 
(Scorch;  =  'beetle')  -chafer');  'cockloft'  (=  ' cob  or  cop 
(=  top)-loft')  ;  'cockswain'  (or  '  coxen',  =  '  50<^-swain ') ; 
'counterpane'  (corruption  of  'counterpoint',  Fr.  contre-pointe, 
for  '  courte-poinie,  0.  Fr.  coultc-pointc,  from  Lat.  culcita  pi/wcta, 
'  st'itched-cushion ')  ;  'cowslip'  (for  '  covtslcck  ' :  see  §  8,  1,  (3), 
(c));  'coxcomb'  ('  cock's-comb ') ;  '  cupboard' (for  'cup-^?w  or 
•bower');  '  curtail' (Fr.  court-tailler,  '  cut  short ');  'domesday- 


VARIOUSLY    MODIFIED    FORMS.  2C3 

book*  (for  domus  Dei,  'house  of  God'.  Also  dei'ived  simply 
from  dom,  'judgment');  'dormouse'  (Fr.  donnctisc,  'the 
sleeping  animal';  merely,  perhaps,  assimilated  to  'mouse'); 
'  everywhere  '  (for  cver-gehwcer,  tvcr-ihwar  :  not  from  '  every  ') : 
1  fieldfare  '  (0.  E.  fc.ala'-for,  f collar,  from  its  pale  yellow  or  dun 
(fealu)  colour) ;  '  furlong  '  (0.  E.  furh-  or  J'ur-lang,  '  furrow- 
long');  'gooseberry'  (corrupted  from  Germ.  krous(d}-bcerc, 

*  the  rough  berry  ') ;    '  handy  work  '  (0.   E.  ha/nd-yciceorc  :  not 
from  '  handy  ')  ;   '  hangnail '  (for  '  agnail '  :  0.  E.  angnayl,  from 
angc-ncegcl,    'sore  nail*.     The  Scotch  often  use  'ragnail',  the 
broken  bits  of   flesh  appearing  like    rags)  :    'harbour'  (0.   E. 
hereberga,  from  here-beorgan,  '  army  -to  protect'  :  orig.  '  lodging 
or  station  for  an  army');    'hauberk'    (0.   Fr.  Jiauberc,  O.  E. 
h(e)alsbeorg ;      from     h(c)a?s-beorgan,     'neck-     to     protect'); 
'hautboy  '  (or  '  oboe  '  :  Fr.  hautbois,  '  high -wood  ',  Ital.   oboe)  ; 
'  humble-pie '    (for    '  umble-\ne ',    pie    made    of    (/fumbles     or 
numbles     (Fr.     nomblcs),     entrails     of    deer ;     assimilated   to 
'  humble  ')  ;     '  husband '    (0.    E.    husbonda,   *  house-cultivator, 
-possessor,  -master';   cultivator   of  soil  attached  to  a  house)  ; 
'jerked-beef  (Chilian  charqui)  ;  'Jew's  harp'  (perh.   from  Fr. 

Jeu,  '  toy  ')  ;  '  Jerusalem-artichoke  '  (for  Ital.  girasole,  '  sun- 
'  flower')  ;  'John  Dory  or  Doree  '  (Fr.  jaune  d&re'e,  'golden- 
yellow';  if  not  a  corruption  of  il  janitore,  'the  gate  keeper',  the 
fiah  being  so  called  in  the  Adriatic,  in  reference  to  St.  Peter)  ; 
'  jollyboat '  (for  '  yawl-boa,t ')  ;  '  keelson  '  (Dan.  kol-svin,  or 
'Svill,  -syll,  'keel-sill');  'kickshaw'  (Fr.  qudque,  chose, 
'something')  ;  'landgrave*  (Germ,  land-grqf ;  graf,  'earl'); 
'  linsey-woolsc»y  '  (linen  and  wool)  ;  '  loadstar '  or  '  lodestar  ', 

*  loadstone  '   or  '  lodestone  '   (from  '  lead  ',  0.    E.    Icedan,  lad. 
Perh.  in  the  last  case  there  is  also  a  confusion  with  '  Lydian 
stone  '  :    cp.    '  magnet '  =    '  magnesian  stone  ')  ;    '  loggerhead  ' 
('  log-head  ')  ;      '  maulstick,      mahlstick,      mostick  '      (Germ. 
malerstock      '  painter's-stk-k  ')  ;      '  nightingale  '    (0.    E.    nihte- 
g<de,    Germ,    nacldigall,    '  night-singer ') ;     '  peacook '    (0.    E. 
pawa,  Fr.    paon,    Lat.    pavbnem)  ;     'pea-jacket'    (Dutch  pije, 
'  coarse  thick  cloth  ') ;  '  purview'  (Fr.  pourvu,  '  provided  (that)') ; 
'quinsy'  (O.   E.    '  squinancy ',  Fr.  esquinancic,  Gr.  kyn-angke, 
'<log-throttling')  :  'rosemary'  (Lat.  ros  marinus,  'dew  of  the 
sea');   'summerset'   or 'somersault',  &c.   (p.  234,  'supra');' tit- 
mouse (O.  E.  tit  (little)-7wa^e  (little),  'small-sparrow  ') :  'walnut' 
(0.  E.  wcalh  hnut,  '  foreign-nut ')  ;  '  Welsh  rabbit'  ('rare-bit ')  ; 
'  whitlow  '  (prov.  Engl.  wkickftaw,  =  quiGk-fiaw,  '  living  sore ') ; 
'wiseacre'      (Germ,      weissager,     '  wise-sayer ')  ;      'woodbine' 
('-bind');   'wormwood'  ('-wort',  -wyrt,  'herb,  plant')  ; 

Phrases. — '  Cat-o'-nine-tails ',     '  fail-me-never  ',      '  forget-me- 
not  ',  '  good-for-nothing ',  '  hole-and-corner  ',  '  knock-me-down ', 

*  ne'er-do-well ',  *  out-of-the-way  '. 


264 


SYNTAX. 


Syntax  explains  the  mode  of  arranging 
words  in  sentences. 

The  Syntax  of  English  is  comparatively  simple,  from  the 
absence  of  Inflexions.* 

There  are  three  leading  processes  or  principles  that 

regulate  the  joining  together  of  words  into  sentences  :  these  are 
Concord,  Government,  and  Order.  The  syntax  of  our  language 
depends  principally  upon  the  last ;  the  two  first,  concord  and 
government,  presuppose  inflexions,  and  are  wanting  in  a 
language  according  as  these  are  wanting. 

Syntax  is  rendered  more  simple  and  intelligible  by  the 
analysis  Of  sentences,  which  ascertains  what  is  common  to 
all  sentences,  and  shows  how  the  different  parts  are  related  to 
each  other. 


THE  ANALYSIS  OF  SENTENCES. 

1.  Every  sentence  consists  of  two  parts, 
the  Subject  and  the  Predicate  :  '  gold  is  precious'; 
*  gold  '  (ifubj.)t  *  is  precious '  (pi-ed.). 

For  the  purpose  of  explaining  the  Parts  of  Speech,  it  was 
necessary  at  the  outset  to  describe  the  two  principal  divisions  of 
the  sentence,  and  the  manner  of  enlarging  or  extending  each  of 
them  by  the  use  of  qualifying  words. 

2.  Sentences    are    Simple,    Complex,    and 
Compound. 

A  Simple  Sentence  contains  one  Subject  and 
one  finite  Verb  :  '  the  patience  of  Job  is  proverbial'. 

*  Dr.  Johnson,  in  his  grammar,  dismisses  the  subject  of  syntax  in  a 
few  lines,  remarking  that  '  our  language  has  so  little  inflexion  or  variety 
of  terminations,  that  its  construction  neither  requires  iior  admits  many 
rules '. 


THE  SIMPLE  SENTENCE  ENLARGED.       265 

A  Complex  Sentence,  while  containing  but  one. 
principal  Subject  and  one  principal  Predicate, 
has  two  or  more  finite  Verbs:  'the  event 
happened,  as  it  was  foretold  '. 

A  Compound  Sentence  contains  two  or  more 
principal  Sentences:  'the  individual  dies,  but 
the  race  endures '. 

The  Simple  Sentence. 

3.  The     Simple    Sentence    contains     one 
Subject  and  one  finite  Verb. 

These  may,  however,  assume  enlarged  and  complicated  forms. 
The  most  elementary  form  is  seen  in  such  examples  as  '  the  sun 
warms',  'water  drowns'.  The  more  extended  forms  may  be 
considered  as  growing  out  of  this. 

4.  (I.)  The   primary   elements   (Subject   and 
Predicate)     may    have    one    or     more     secondary 
elements    or  adjuncts  tacked  on  to  them;    as  'the 
(tropical)  sun  (thoroughly)  warms  (the  ground) '.  • 

Here  the  subject,  is  enlarged  by  the  qualifying  word  '  tropical' ; 
the  predicate  is  enlarged  by  adding  an  object — '  the  ground ', 
and  by  the  adverb  '  thoroughly '.  This  exemplifies  the 
enlarged  simple  sentence,  containing  both  the  primary  elements 
(noun  and  verb)  and  the  secondary  elements  (adjective  and 
adverb). 

5.  (2.)  Both  the  primary  and  the  secondary 
elements,     as    represented     by    the    Noun,    Verb, 
Adjective, and  Adverb,  may  undergo  transforma- 
tions and  expansions. 

6.  The  Subject,  whose  type  is  the  Noun,  may 
be  also  a  Pronoun,  or  an  Infinitive  (PARTS  OP 
SPEECH — Noun)  :  l  he  lives ' ;    *  to  work  is  the  lot  of 
.men  '  ;  '  working  is  often  fatiguing '. 

The  infinite  forms  may  take  an  object  and  qualifying  words, 
whence  it  is  very  common  to  have  an  expanded  infinitive  phrase 
as  the  subject  of  a  sentence  :  '  to  hear  a  good  orator  is  rare  '  ; 
'  to  work  hard  is  the  fate  of  many  '  ;  '  to  speak  the  truth  at  all 
times  is  reckoned  a  duty  '  ;  '  reading  much  is  not  the  oidy  way 
to  knowledge '. 


266  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF    SENTENCES. 

The  infinitive  may  have  a  subject,  as  well  as  an  object  and 
qualifying  words  ;  this  is  effected  by  prefixing  '  for '  :  'for  a 
prince  to  be  reduced  by  villany  to  my  circumstances  is  calamity 
enough  '.  Strictly,  however,  this  is  merely  an  inversion  for 
'  to  be  reduced  is  calamity  enough  for  a  prince '. 

The  Object,  or  completion  of  the  transitive 
Predicate,  having  also  a  Noun  for  its  type,  under- 
goes the  same  transformations  as  the 
Subject:  'the  dog  follows  him';  'John  likes 
working  (or  to  nork) ' ;  *  leave  off  shrieking,  and  begin 
considering  ' ;  '  every  one  likes  to  hear  good  news  '. 

The  rule  that  one  verb  governs  another  in  the  infinitive  is 
merely  a  way  of  saying  that  an  infinitive  can  be  the  object  of  a 
sentence  in  place  of  a  noun,  or  that  one  verb  can  govern  another 
only  when  that  other  is  in  a  noun  position  :  '  I  begin  to  move  ', 
means  '  I  begin  the  act  of  moving '  ;  '  to  move  '  is  the  same  as 
4  the  act  of  moving  '. 

A  verbal  Noun  may  take  an  object  in  the  form  of  an  infinitive 
expression  :  '  his  proposal  to  raise  the  siege  was  approved  of  by 
the  government '.  The  noun  '  proposal '  contains  the  active 
force  of  the  verb  '  propose  '  :  '  he  proposed  to  raise  the  siege,  and 
this  was  approved  of". 

4  To '  is  not  necessary  to  the  infinitive  :  it  is  not  inserted  after 
the  verbs  '  have  ',  '  may ',  4  can  ',  '  shall  ',  '  will ',  *  do  ',  '  dare  ', 
4  bid ',  '  let ',  '  make ',  4  must ',  '  durst ',  '  need  not ',  '  feel ', 
4 hear',  'see'.  The  list  might  be  extended,  especially  with 
words  of  similar  meaning  :  '  wish  ',  'intend  ',  'help  ',  4  deign  ', 
&c.,  and  by  reference  to  older  writers  and  poets.  There  are 
also  frequent  exceptions.  '  To  '  is  dropped  after  the  preposition 
4  but '  :  4  he  did  nothing  but  read '. 

7.  The  regular  Subject  or  Object  may  be 
Enlarged  by  all  the  various  means  of  qualifying  or 
modifying  the  Noun. 

I.  The  Adjective  :  *  much  anxiety  shortens  life  ' ; 
'  we  met  an  old  soldier  '. 

This  is  the  regular  and  usual  mode  of  expressing  the  attribute 
of  a  noun,  whether  the  subject  or  the  object  of  a  sentence.  We 
may  include  under  it  the  many  cases  where  a  noun  is  used  as 
an  adjective  :  'stump  orator',  'iron  duke',  r  faun-tray ',  &c.  ; 


ENLARGEMENTS    OF    SUBJECT    OR   OBJECT.  267 

and  the  few  cases  where  an  adverb  is  so  used    (elliptically)  : 
'the  church  here  ',  &c.* 

(2.)  A  Possessive  Case  :  'the  king's  preroga- 
tive ' ;  '  his  death  '. 

Here  the  possessive  acts  the  part  of  the  adjective  by  specifying 
some  individual  instance  of  the  thing  named  by  the  other 
noun  :  '  of  all  prerogatives,  the  one  here  spoken  of  is  the  one 
belonging  to  the  king  '. 

(3.)  A  Noun  in  apposition:  'Havelock,  the 
hero,  is  dead  '  :  '  and  David,  the  king,  answered  Joab, 
the  captain  of  the  host ',  &c. 

An  infinitive  phrase  may  be  in  apposition  as  well  as  a  noun. 
'  The  rule,  to  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  comprehends  our 
duty  to  man.' 

It  is  a  general  principle  of  language,  that  words  placed 
together  are  to  be  understood  as  mutually  connected,  if  there  be 
nothing  indicated  to  the  contrary. 

(4.)  A  Phrase  made  up  of  a  Preposition  and 
a  Noun  :  'a  man  of  letters'  (a  literary  man)  ;  '  the 
right  of  pasture  ' ;  '  a  word  in  season  '  /  *  the  house  by 
the  wood  ' ;  '  men  with  wives  '. 

We  may  specify  a  thing  by  any  circumstance  of  position  or 
relation  to  other  things,  which  relationship  is  usually  expressed 
by  a  preposition  :  '  the  door  on  your  right  hand  ' ;  '  the  property 
for  sale  '  ;  'the  church  on  the  hill '  ;  '  the  road  to  ruin  ' ;  *  the 
battle  of  Hastings  '  ;  'the  captain  with  his  men  ' ;  ' five  of  tJie 

*  A  phrase  formed  by  the  infinitive  in  '  ing '  may  sometimes  take  an 
adjective ;  '  that  burning  the  capitol  was  a  wanton  outrage '.  The 
similar  construction,  '  the  sending  them  the  light',  was  objected  to  by 
Lowth,  who  considered  that  there  are  two  equivalent  constructions,  and 
these  alone  admissible,  '  (by)  sending  them  ',  and  '  the  sending  of  them  ' : 
in  this  last  case,  •  sending  '  being  a  verbal  noun.  But  these  are  not  in  all 
cases  equivalent  :  '  he  expressed  the  pleasure  he  bad  in  hearing  the 
philosopher'  and  'in  the  hearing  of  the  philosopher',  have  different 
meanings. 

With  a  verbal  noun  we  do  not  now  omit  the  article  :  '  by  (the)  observing  of 
this  rule  you  will  gain  your  point ' ;  '  at  a  or  the  meeting  of  council '  ;  '  by 
(the)  comparing  of  authorities '.  The  omitting  of  '  of '  after  the  verbal 
noun  often  makes  a  total  change  of  the  meaning  :  '  the  meeting  of  the 
council',  and  'the  meeting  the  council',  are  both  allowable,  but  for 
different  significations.  '  When  the  Lord  saw  it,  he  abhorred  them, 
because  of  the  provoking  of  his  sons  and  daughters '  ;  '  because  of 
provoking  his  sons',  and  'because  of  the  provoking  his  sons':  the  first 
'  provoking'  is  a  verbal  noun,  the  second  and  the  third,  infinitives. 


268  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES. 

seven ' ;  '  the  chief  among  ten  thousand '.  The  infinitive  being 
the  same  as  a  noun,  we  may  include  such  cases  as  '  a  desire  to 
rise '.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  gerund  :  '  a  house  to 
let '.  Most  of  such  examples  are  elliptical  or  contracted 
expressions  :  '  the  church  standing  on  the  hill ',  '  the  road  that 
lends  to  ruin ',  &c.  '  A  man  of  the  v:orld  '  is  '  a  man  taken  out 
of  the  world  ',  and  therefore  experienced  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  The  full  form  shows  that  the  real  character  of  the 
prepositional  phrase  is  adverbial. 

(5.)  A  Participial  Phrase ;  that  is,  a  Participle, 
either  alone,  or  having  an  object,  or  qualified  by  an 
Adverb:  'a  man  carrying  a  burden  passed  a  cow  quietly 
grazing '. 

The  participle  qualifies  or  restricts  the  noun  as  an  adjective 
would  do.  '  The  minister,  having  obtained  information  of  the 
conspiracy,  -ordered  all  those  concerned  in  it  to  be  arrested '  : 
the  second  participle — 'concerned  in  it',  restricts  or  defines 
'those',  arid  is  therefore  a  restrictive  adjunct  ;  the  first— 'having 
obtained',  &c.,  does  not  define  the  'minister',  but  supposes 
him  to  be  defined  or  ascertained  already,  and  imparts  additional 
information  respecting  him  :  it  is  a  contracted  form  of  a 
compound  sentence — 'the  minister  obtained  information,  and 
ordered  ',  &c.  It  is  a  co-ordinating  adjunct. 

This  mode  of  contracting  a  compound  sentence  exhibits  one 
of  the  characteristic  functions  of  the  participle.  The  participial 
phrase  depends  for  its  subject  and  for  its  power  of  affirmation 
on  the  finite  clause.  '  Having  gained  our  purpose,  we  departed ', 
is  the  same  as  '  we  gained  our  purpose,  and  we  departed  '  ;  but 
in  the  contraction,  the  subject  of  the  first  clause  is  omitted,  and 
,  the  form  of  affirmation  dropped.  There  is  a  very  common 
/•^  error  with  reference  to  this  construction  :  thus  '  having  failed 
in  this  attempt,  no  farther  trial  was  made'.  Here  the  participle 
'  having '  is  without  a  subject,  the  finite  clause  supplying  a 
different  subject.  The  mistake  probably  arises  from  confound- 
ing the  co-ordinating  participial  adjunct  with  the  participle  in 
the  absolute  construction  :  it  would  be  correct  to  say,  '  the 
attempt  having  failed,  no  farther  trial  was  made.  The  participial 
phrase  is  then  complete  in  itself. 

8.  The  Subject  or  the  Object  may  be 
enlarged  by  a  combination  of  two  or  more 
of  these  modes  ;  and  the  adjuncts  may  them- 
selves be  modified  by  other  adjuncts. 


ENLARGEMENTS    OF   SUBJECT   OB   OBJECT.  269 

(1.)  Instead  of  the  simple  adjective,  we  may  have  an  adjective 
followed  by  a  phrase  of  reference  or  of  ivgimen  ;  as  '  a  man 
•sufficient  in  himself,  'anxious  for  nothing',  'desirous  to 
please  ',  '  blameless  in  his  life  ',  '  careless  of  appearances  '. 

The  most  usual  case  of  this  construction  is  when  the  more 
remote  adjunct  implies  a  reference  to  something,  or  indicates  in 
rwhat  point  or  direction  the  meaning  of  t'ie  adjective  is  to  be 
'taken  ;  thus  '  careless '  is  qualified  or  limited  by  stating  the 
'exact  matter  that  the  carelessness  applies  to  :  '  careless  in  his 
person  ',  '  of  his  money  ',  '  of  his  life '« 

When  an  adjective  seems  to  govern  an  infinitive  like  a  verb, 
this  is  because  of  its  close  alliance  to  some  verb ;  thus,  '  desirous 
to  please'  scarcely  differs  from  'desiring  to  please',  which  is 
the  infinitive  or  participle  (as  the  case  may  be)  of  'desire'. 
•For  the  very  same  reason  a  noun  may  seem  to  have  a  regimen, 
as  '  the  desire  to  please'.  The  3  are  examples  of  the  great 
freedom  that  our  language  allows  in  substituting  one  part  of 
spe  ch  for  another. 

(2. )  It  is  very  common  to  have  two  or  more  adjectives  qualifying 
the  same  subject  ;  as  '  the  deep  Stygian  recesses  ',  '  the  old  man 
eloquent ',  '  a  good  and  faithful  servant ',  '  the  Victoria  Hotel 
Company,  limited  '.  Also  the  possessive  and  an  adjective  may 
"be  frequently  found  conjoined  :  '  Wellington's  Peninsular  &vmy'. 
(3.)  The  noun  of  the  prepositional  phrase  may  be  qualified 
t>y  an  adjective  or  the  equivalent  of  an  adjective :  '  a  man  of 
any  sense  '  ;  '  a  pearl  of  great  price  '.  With  or  without  this 
qualification,  the  prepositional  phrase  may  be  conjoined  with  an 
adjective  :  'a  grown  man  of  sense' ;  'a  goodly  pearl  of  great 
price ' ;  'a  wary  statesman  in  difficult  times '. 

(4.)  The  participial  phrase  may  be  combined  with  other  quali- 
fications :  'a  powerful  mind  engaged  on  great  problems'.  Here 
'mind  'is  restricted  both  by  the  adjective  and  by  the  participle. 
As  every  noun  occurring  in  a  phrase  may  be  the  subject  of 
new  qualifications,  .the  main  subject  may  be  enlarged  without 
any  other  limit  than  that  of  becoming  too  complicated  to  be 
easily  understood. 

All  the  attributes  that  constitute  the  enlargement  of  the  subject  may 
also  be  predicated  of  it,  as  will  be  seen  presently.  Things  in  the  attribu- 
tive relation  to  a  subject  are  assumed  to  belong  to  it,  instead  of  being 
predicated  of  it:  'a  valiant  man',  'a  man  of  bravery',  'a  man  having  a 
stout  heart',  &c.,  suppose  or  assume  the  characteristic  of  bravery  as 
belonging  to  a  man,  and  distinguishing  him  from  the  rest  of  men.  If 
this  cannot  be  assumed,  and  needs  to  be  asserted,  we  must  predicate  it ; 
as  '  he  is  valiant,  is  a  man  of  bravery,  is  a  man  of  stout  heart ',  <fec. 

9.  The  Predicate  may  be  a  single  Verb,  in 

which  case  it  is  called  simple;    as  '  the  dog  rum', 
1  the  sky  brightens '. 


270  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF    SENTENCES. 

The  Predicate  is  called  complex  when  it  is  made 
up  of  a  Verb  of  incomplete  Predication  and 
its  complement :  *  the  dog  is  sagacious ' ;  *  the  sky 
grows  clear  '  ;  'he  seemed  honest '. 

The  verb  '  be '  called  the  copula,  is  by  pre-eminence  the 
verb  of  incomplete  predication.  Except  in  the  case  wh«:re 

it  has  its  proper  meaning  of  existence,  this  verb  always  requires 
some  subject  or  attribute  joined  to  it  to  make  a  complete 
predicate  :  '  Pitt  was  a  statesman '  (noun)  ;  '  the  sky  is  blue  ' 
(adjective)  ;  '  he  is  here  '  (adverb)  ;  '  that  was  of  no  consequence  ' 
(phrase). 

The  other  verbs  of  incomplete  predication  are  the  intransitive 
verbs — '  become  ',  '  get ',  'grow  ',  '  fall ',  '  live  ',  '  die  ',  '  seem  ', 
&c.,  and  the  transitive  verbs — 'can',  'do',  'shall',  'will', 
'  make',  'call ',  'deem  ',  '  think ',  '  consider  ',  '  choose  ',  '  elect ', 
'  constitute  ',  '  appoint ',  &c.  :  '  Napoleon  became  first  consul '  ; 
'  he  got  better  '  ;  '  I  fell  asleep ' ;  'he  grows  a.  man  '  j  'he  grows 
tall '  ;  '  he  seemed  clever  '  ;  'I  can  write ' ;  '  they  were  elected 
members '. 

The  transitive  verbs  of  incomplete  predication  have  two 
constructions,  active  and  passive.  In  the  passive  voice  they 
closely  resemble  the  intransitive;  as  'he  ivas  made,  chosen, 
elected,  appointed,  constituted,  declared,  first  consul ' ;  '  he  is 
Mi-ought,  deemed,  considered,  a  man  of  ability  '. 

With  intransitive  verbs,  and  also  with  transitive  verbs  used 
passively,  the  completion  of  the  predicate  is  something  affirmed 
of  the  subject  of  the  sentence  :  '  he  seemed  a  god ',  '  the  wine 
tastes  sour ' ;  '  the  rope  is  made  fast '.  Hence  the  predicate,  if 
a  noun  or  adjective,  agrees  in  case  with  the  subject  ;  in  other 
words,  is  considered  to  be  in  the  nominative. 

This  remark,  however,  is  of  very  little  importance  in  the  English 
language,  since,  in  the  absence  of  noun  inflexions,  it  can  apply  only  to : 
the  pronouns  ;  as  'I  am  he'.  Even  as  regards  the  pronouns,  such; 
expressions  with  the  nominative  have  been  culled  in  question  by  some 
grammarians,  as  not  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of  our  language. 

When  the  verb  is  transitive,  and  in  the  active  voice,  the 
complement  of  the  predicate  is  an  attribute  of  the  object  of  the 
verb  ;  as  '  they  elected  him  captain ',  '  he  left  me  destitute ', 
'  they  made  the  house  secure '.  When  the  complement  is  a 
verb  in  the  infinitive  ('he  can  write',),  the  object  is  attached  to 
this  infinitive  :  '  he  can  write  French  '. 

10.  The  form  of  Negation  is  not  to  be  looked 
upon  as  enlarging  the  Predicate  :  'the  sun  does 
not  shine ',  *  he  laughs  not ',  *  the  course  is  now  inex- 
pedient '. 


PREDICATE  :  OBJECT  I  ADVERBIAL  ADJUNCT.   271 

Every  declaratory  sentence  either  affirms  or  denies,  and  the 
denial  is  not  more  complicated  than  the  affirmation.  In  other 
words,  the  negative  '  not '  is  considered  a  part  of  the  predicate 
rather  than  an  adverbial  enlargement  of  it  :  '  he  laughs  merrily' 
shows  an  enlargement  of  the  predicate  ;  not  so  '  he  does  not 
laugh '. 

11.  The  Predicate,  if  a  Transitive  Verb,  is 
completed   by  means  of  an  Object:    'Caesar 
conquered  Gaul ' ;  'he  defies  opposition ' ;  '  they  con- 
stituted me  umpire '. 

It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  object  is  of  the  same  nature 
as  the  subject.  It  may  be  noun,  pronoun,  or  infinitive  ;  it  may 
be  enlarged  by  an  adjective,  a  possessive  case,  a  noun  in  apposi- 
tion, a  phrase  made  up  of  preposition  and  noun,  a  participial 
phrase. 

12.  The  Predicate  is  enlarged  by  an  Adverb, 
or  an  Adverbial  phrase:   'he  rose  early' ;  'she 
sings  well ' ;    '  they  returned  in  good  order  '.      These 
are  called  Adverbial  Adjuncts  of  the  Predicate. 

An  adverb  or  adverbial  phrase,  as  has  been  seen,  expresses  any 
circumstance  of  place,  time,  degree,  certainty  or  uncertainty, 
cause,  instrument,  manner,  connected  with  the  action  :  '  we 
met  in  the  town ' ;  ''  it  happened  long  ago ' ;  'it  concerns  us 
little' ;  'assuredly  you  will  find  it  so'  ;  'he  died  of  fever  ' ; 
'  the  city  was  taken  by  stratagem '  :  'he  cried  with  a  loud  voice' ; 
1  the  brook  murmured  pleasantly ' ;  'he  was  naturally  (by 
nature}  kind'. 

13.  The    Adverbial    Phrase    appears     in 
various  forms : 

(I.)  A  Noun:  'we  walked  a  mile';  'it  weighs  a 
pound ' ;  '  they  ran  a  race '. 

(2.)  A  Preposition  and  Noun:  'he  went  of 
necessity  '  /  '  they  watched  by  day  and  ~by  night '. 

The  adverbial  adjunct  of  Preposition  and  Noun  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  the  indirect  object :  '  he  gave  money  to  the  poor  '  ; 
'  they  accused  him  of  conspiracy,  and  condemned  him  to  a  fine '. 

In  these  examples  the  verb  has  a  direct  object  which  it 
governs,  — '  gave  money  ',  '  accused  him  ',  '  condemned  him  ', — 
and  what  seems  a  second  object  required  to  specify  the  action 
completely.  But  these  indirect  objects  are  better  viewed  as 


272  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OP    SENTENCES. 

adverbial  adjuncts,  qualifying  the  action  of  the  verb.  "When 
we  say  '  they  condemned  him  to  a  fine  ',  we  indicate  by  the 
words  '  to  a  fine  '  something  regarding  the  manner  of  his  con- 
demnation. 

In  such  constructions  as  '  they  saluted  him  Emperor  ',  some 
grammarians  consider  '  emperor '  (the  completion  of  the 
predicate)  as  a  second  or  indirect  object. 

(3.)  A  Noun  qualified  by  some  adjunct :  'he 

rose  his  height ' ;  'we  arrived  last  night ' ;  '  let  me  die 
the  death  of  the  righteous '. 

The  noun  in  these  constructions  is  in  the  objective  case.  In 
some  instances  there  is  an  ellipsis  of  a  preposition  :  '  we  arrived 
on  or  during  last  night '.  Also  in  the  case  of  the  simple  noun 
used  adverbially,  — '  they  ran  a  race  ',  the  noun  is  now  regarded 
as  in  the  objective,  there  being  an  ellipsis  of  a  preposition.  In 
the  expression  '  let  nie  die  the  death  of  the  righteous ',  the 
meaning  is  '  after  the  manner  that  the  righteous  die ',  which  is 
obviously  an  adverbial  signification. 

(4.)  A  Participle  or  a  Participial   Phrase : 

'  they  went  along  singing  ' ;  'he  stood  gazing  on  the 
wene  below '. 

In  most  instances  this  adjunct  may  be  considered  as  a  separate 
clause  contracted  into  a  participial  phrase  :  'they  went  along, 
and  sang  (as  they  went) '  ;  '  he  stood,  and  gazed  '.  For  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  participle  is  in  apposition  with  the  subject  to 
the  verb  :  '  they— singing  ',  *  he -gazing  '. 

When  the  Participle  agrees  with  a  Subject 
different  from  the  Subject  of  the  Verb,  the 
Phrase  is  said  to  be  in  the  Absolute  Construction : 
'  the  sun  having  risen,  we  commenced  our  journey ' ; 
*  this  said,  he  sat  down '. 

'  Then,  as  a  gallant  bark  from  Albion's  coast 
(The  stortns  all  weat/ier'd  and  the  ocean  cross'd) 
Shoots  into  port,  &c'.— (Cowper.) 

The  absolute  Case,  or  the  case  of  a  detached  participial 
phrase  with  a  subject  of  its  own,  differs  in  different  languages, 
but  grammarians  have  for  the  most  part  agreed  that  in  English 
it  is  the  nominative  ;  accordingly,  the  following  are  deemed 
•orrect  constructions  :  — 

'  Then  I  shall  be  no  more  ; 
And  Adam,  wedded  to  another  Eve, 
Shall  live  with  her  enjoying :  /  extinct  '.—(Milton.) 


CONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   PARTICIPLE.  273 

'  I  shall  not  lag  behind,  nor  err 
The  way,  thou  leading.  -  (Milton.) 

•  On  these  and  kindred  thoughts  intent  I  lay 
In  silence  musing  by  my  comrade's  side, 
He  also  silmC— (Wordsworth.) 

The  objective,  corresponding  to  the  oldest  English  dative, 
was  till  recently  not  uncommon.  Tillotson  has  : — '  he  made  as 
wise  and  true  proverbs  as  anybody  else  has  done  since,  him 
only  excepted,  who  ',  &c.* 

'Notwithstanding',  'pending',  'during',  which  seem  to 
govern  a  noun  in  the  manner  of  a  preposition,  are  in  reality 
absolute  participles  :  'notwithstanding  our  losses  we  shall 
persevere';  'during  the  day';  'pending  the  trial'.  The 
natural  order  would  be  '  our  losses  notwithstanding  r,  '  the  day 
during,  or  continuing  ',  '  the  trial  pending '  ;  and  in  the  instance 
of  '  notwithstanding  ',  this  order  is  not  uncommon. 

'  Except '  is  a  remnant  of  the  Latin  ablative  absolute  :  '  except 
this  ',  or  '  this  executed  ',  '  Save  '  and  '  past '  are  also  trans- 
formed past  participles. 

The  Subject  in  the  Participial  construction 
is  sometimes  omitted,  and  then  the  Participle  is 
used  impersonally  :  '  granting  this  to  be  true,  what 
is  to  be  inferred  from  it  1 ' 

There  might  seem  to  be  here  an  omission  of  '  I  ',  or  '  we  ', — • 
'  T  granting ',  &c.  ;  the  subject,  being  either  quite  indefinite 
and  immaterial,  or  perfectly  well  understood,  is  left  unex- 
pressed. As  regards  the  common  expression  '  considering 
all  these  things  ',  &c.,  a  different  view  is  sometimes  taken.- 
In  old  English  the  words  '  being '  and  '  considered '  often 
introduced  absolute  phrases.  '  Natheless,  considered  his  dis- 
tresse ' — (Chaucer)  ;  that  is,  '  his  distress  (being)  considered  ' ; 
*  all  things  considered  '.  In  modern  English  the  active  parti- 
ciple has  been  substituted  for  the  passive,  either  from  over- 
looking the  true  construction,  or  from  the  disposition  to  use 
the  active  participle  with  a  passive  meaning.  On  this  view, 

*  M  r.  Ernest  Adams  maintains  that  the  dative  ought  to  be  the  absolute 
case  in  modern  English,  us  it  was  in  the  earliest  English.  He  properly 
remarks  that  the  '  meaniny  conveyed  by  these  absolute  words  cannot  be 
o-\ pressed  by  a  true  nominative  '.  In  the  classical  languages  the  absolute 
ftisc  is  not  the  nominative.  Dr.  Latham  is  of  the  same  opinion.  In  all 
probability,  the  nominative  was  fixed  upon  from  some  random  instances, 
without  any  deliberate  consideration.  As  it  is  only  in  the  pronouns  that 
the  case  is  seen,  and  as  examples  of  both  constructions  are  to  be  found  in 
food  writers,  there  is  some  ground  for  contending  that  usage  leiw.es  tJte 

18 


274  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 

we  may  suppose  that  the  expression  'granting  this  to  be  true  ', 
is  an  equivalent  of  '  this  granted '. 

The  phrase  '  generally  speaking '  may  be  best  explained  by 
supposing  an  omission  of  the  subject  ('  I ',  '  we  ',  or  '  one  '). 

(5.)  An  Infinitive  or  a  Gerund:  'he  is  a  fool 
to  throw  away  such  a  change'  (infinitive  with  prep.)  ; 
*  the  courtier  stoops  to  rise  '  (gerund). 

The  infinitive  is  so  closely  allied  to  the  noun  as  to  act  the 
part  of  a  noun-phrase  when  preceded,  as  it  usually  is,  by  the 
preposition  '  to  .  '  He  is  a  fool ',  and  the  manner  or  circum- 
stance or  explanation  of  his  being  so  is  '  for  the  throwing  away 
of  the  chance  '. 

The  gerund  is  known  from  its  expressing  end,  or  purpose  : 
'  What  went  ye  to  see  ? '  Hence  it  is  an  adverbial  adjunct  of 
purpose  or  intention  when  following  another  verb  :  '  he  went 
abroad  to  make  his  fortune  '. 

The  Complex  Sentence. 

14.  A  Complex  Sentence,  while  consisting 
of  one  principal  Subject  and  Predicate,  con- 
tains two   or  more  finite  Verbs:  'I  saw  that 
something   was  wrong ' ;    'no   one  can   say  how   the 
thing  happened '. 

The  part  containing  the  principal  Subject  and 
Predicate  is  called  the  principal  clause  J  the  other 
part,  the  Subordinate  Clause,  or  Clauses:  '  I  saw' 
(principal)  '  that  something  was  wrong  '  (subordinate). 
\  We  may  have  a  plurality  of  subordinate  clauses  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  principal  ;  as  '  we  were  told  that  the  messenger 
had  just  arrived,  and  had  seen  the  general '.  This  makes  a 
Compound  sentence,  each  member  of  which  is- complex.  At 
other  times  the  subordination  is  carried  to  the  second  or  even  a 
higher  degree  ;  as  '  I  know  not  by  what  fate  it  comes  (1)  that  he 
is  always  against  me  (2),  when  I  try  to  rise  above  the  position  (3) 
that  I  now  occuppy  (4) '. 

15.  Subordinate  Clauses  are  of  three  kinds, 

according  as  they  are  representative  of  the  Noun,  of  the 
Adjective,  or  of  the  Adverb. 

They  are  thus  divided  into  Noun  Clauses,  Adjec- 
tive Clauses,  and  Adverbial  Clauses. 


THE   NOUN   CLAUSE.  275 

It  has  been  seen  that  among  the  substitutes  for  the  Noun  is 
included  a  Clause,  and  so  for  the  Adjective  and  for  the  Adverb. 

THE  NOUN   CLAUSE. 

16.  The  Noun  Clause  occupies  the  place  of 
the  Noun. 

It  may  be  the  subject  or  object  of  the  Principal 
Clause  :  as  'that  he  had  been  rash  was  apparent  to  all'; 
1 1  saw  that  the  waters  had  risen  '. 

The  noun  clause  is,  as  it  were,  the  expansion  or  equivalent  of 
a  noun  or  noun  phrase  :  '  his  rashness  was  apparent'  ;  'I  saw^ 
the  rise  of  the  waters '.  '  I  wish  the  happiness  of  all  men  '  (that 
all  men  should  be  happy). 

The  Noun  Clause  may  be  in  apposition  to  some 
Noun  ;  as  '  the  idea  that  any  one  should  challenge  his 
right  had  never  crossed  his  mind  '. 

It  may  be  the  completion  of  the  Predicate  : 

*  the  consequence  was  that  we  achieved  a  victory '. 

"When  a  noun  clause  is  the  subject  of  a  sentence  it  is  very 
common  to  use  the  word  ' it '  as  the  grammatical  subject  of  the 
principal  verb,  and  to  place  the  noun  clause  at  the  end  :  '  it  is 
certain  that  the  river  may  be  crossed  '.  The  noun  clause  is  then, 
in  apposition  to  '  it '. 

Tne  objective  relation,  which  belongs  properly  to  verbs,  may 
be  sustained  also  by  nouns  and  adjectives  J  hence  these  are 
sometimes  followed  By  noun  clauses :  thus,  '  there  is  no 

proof  that  he  did  this1 ;  'I  am  sure  that  this  is  so' ;  '  I  do  this  in 
the  hope  that  he  will  deserve  it '.  But,  as  already  remarked  (§  8), 
these  nouns  and  adjectives  have  the  full  force  and  meaning  of 
verbs  :  they  are  the  same  as,  '  there  is  no  evidence  capable  of 
proving  that  he  did  this '  ;  '  I  believe  that  this  is  so  ' ;  *  I  do  this 
because  /  hope  that  he  will  deserve  it '. 

17.  Noun  Clauses  are  introduced  by  That', 
or  by  some   interrogative  word:    as  'what', 

'  when  ',  '  whence  ',  '  how  ',  '  why  ',  &c. 

1  That '  is  the  most  usual  connective.  Properly  speaking,  it  is 
the  demonstrative  *  that ',  followed  by  a  clause  instead  of  a 
noun  :  '  I  know  that ' — viz .,  a  certain  fact  or  circumstance 
affirmed  in  the  noun  clause — 'we  shall  soon  arrive  '. 

The  conjunction  is  frequently  omitted  before  an  objective  clause: 

*  I  fear  we  shall  be  late ' ;  'he  said  he  would  do  it  forthwith' . 


276  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 

The  verb  '  doubt ',  preceded  by  '  not ',  is  sometimes  followed 
by  'but  that'  :  'I  do  not  doubt  but  that  we  shall  know  the 
whole'.  The  'but*  in  this  case  is,  however,  unnecessary  and 
inelegant. 

The  interrogative  connectives  are  seen  in  the  following 
examples  :  'hotc  it  happened  is  a  mystery  ' ;  '  you  know  wh»  \ 
am,  and  where  I  came  from'  ;  'we  cannot  say  how  America 
was  first  inhabited '  ;  '  tell  me  where  1  shall  find  the  master '  ; 
'  it  is  uncertain  whether  he  will  come  '  ;  '  science  teaches  us  wlu/ 
the  fall  of  the  mercury  portends  rain '  ;  '  he  asked  me  how  old 'I 
was  ' ;  '  whoever  gives  information  will  be  rewarded  '. 

In  such  cases  the  subordinate  clause  is  really  a  question  which 
the  principal  clause  embodies  in  some  form  or  other.  This 
construction  is  sometimes  called  the  indirect  question. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  contraction  of  these  clauses  into 
infinitive  phrases :  '  they  knew  not  where  to  go— what  to  do — 
who  to  look  to—hoiv  to  act-  when  to  begin  '  :  '  how  not  to  do  it '  ; 
'  I  believe  the  man  (to  be)  guilty ' ;  '  he  denied  having  used  that 
expression '. 

Instead  of  the  interrogative  *  whether ',  we  find  the  conjunc- 
tion '  if '  sometimes  employed  :  '  he  asked  if  that  was  my 
opinion '.  Being  against  analogy,  and  also  uncalled  for,  this 
practice  should  not  be  followed. 

THE  ADJECTIVE   CLAUSE. 

18.  When  a    clause  limits  or  qualifies    a 
Noun  or  Pronoun,  it  is  of  the  nature  of  an 
Adjective  :  *  men  that  are  seljish  (selfish  men)  never 
win   our   esteem ' ;    'I  remember   the   place    that    he 
occupied    (the    by-him-occupied    place  ;    his    place) '. 
Hence  these  are  called  Adjective  Clauses. 

An  Adjective  Clause  may  be  found  in  any  place  of 
the  sentence  where  a  Noun  may  occur  for  an  Adjective 
to  qualify. 

1.  With  the  Subject :  '  the  rains  that  have  just  fallen  will  do 
much  good'  ;    'joy  that  is  noisy  and  intemperate  is  of  short 
duration  ' ;  '  he  that  sows  will  reap '. 

2.  With  the  Object :  '  we  met  the  man  that  we  had  seen  in  the 
morning '  ;  '  I  love  them  that  love  me  '. 

3.  In  Adverbial  Adjuncts :    '  in   the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof,  thou  shalt  die. 

19.  The  Adjective  Clause,  in  its  fundamen- 


THE    ADJECTIVE    CLAUSE.  277 

tal  restrictive  application,  should  be  intro- 
duced by  the  restricting  relative  'that',  or 
its  equivalents.  '  The  man  that  is  wise  '  ('  the  wise 
man ') ;  *  uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown  '. 

'  The  house  that  Jack  built ',  '  any  one  that  chooses  to  inquire', 
'  I  want  a  man  that  will  share  my  burdens ',  are  constructions 
with  the  restrictive  adjective  clause,  and  are  best  introduced  by 
'that'.  The  equivalents  of  'that'  are  '(such)  as',  'but', 
'  when  ',  and  '  where  ',  with  its  compounds  '  whereof,  &c.  (pp. 
38-46)'.  *  A  horse  such  as  you  want  is  not  easily  to  be  found ' ; 
'  he  came  at  the  time  when  I  expected  him  '  ;  'the  son  of  man 
h;id  not  a  place  where  he  might  lay  his  head'  ;  'the  point 
wherein  you  are  mistaken  is  this ' ;  'I  know  a  bank  whereon 
the  wild  thyme  grows  '. 

When  the  restrictive  relative  is  in  the  objective  case,  it  is  often 
omitted  :  '  I  have  found  the  book  (that)  you  want '.  We  may 
also  say  (colloquially)  '  this  is  all  (  )  I  have  '.  The  omission 
in  the  nominative  case  leads  to  an  ungrammatical  construction 
(§  78). 

Some  attention  is  necessary  to  distinguish  adjective  clauses 
preceded  by  '  who ',  '  what ',  '  when  ',  '  where  ',  '  wherein  ', 
from  noun  clauses  expressing  the  indirect  question  :  '  tell  me 
where  he  lives  '  (noun  clause)  ;  '  this  is  the  place  where  he  lives ' 
(adjective  clause).  The  adjective  clause  must  always  have  a 
subject  which  it  qualifies. 

The  adjective  clause  may  in  certain  cases  be  contracted  into  an 
infinitive  phrase,  thereby  becoming  more  terse  :  '  the  son  of 
man  had  no  plnr>e  where  to  lay  his  head  '  (no  place  that  he  might 
lay  his  head  ?'/<,>  ;  'you  have  no  cause  to  hold  my  friendship 
doubtful '  (gerund  :  =  no  cause  why  ~on  account  of  which— you 
should  hold,  *fcc.). 

The  Co-ordinating  Adjective  Clause,  which 
joins  on  an  additional  statement  in  a  convenient  way, 
is  best  introduced  by  '  who  '  and  *  which ',  or 
their  equivalents. 

'  The  prince,  who  is  an  excellent  horseman,  kept  his  seat ' ; 
'  the  king,  who  was  more  prudent  than  his  advisers,  accepted 
the  armistice'  ;  'let  pride,  which  she  calls  plainness,  marry 
her '  ;  '  Goethe's  heart,  which  few  knew,  was  as  great  as  his 
intellect,  which  all  knew '  ;  '  some  of  the  dragoons  came  up  to 
the  hall,  where  they  took  possession '  ;  '  the  Interrex  held  office 
for  five  days  only,  when  a  successor  was  chosen  '  ;  '  he  is  in  the 


278  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF  SENTENCES. 

garden  of  Naboth,  whither  he  is  gone  down  to  possess  it '.  (See 
THE  PRONOUN,  §§  17,  &c.). 

When  the  subject  is  of  itself  vague  and  undetermined,  we  are 
prepared  for  regarding  the  accompanying  clause  as  restrictive. 
When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  subject  is  sufficiently  denned,  we 
then  look  upon  the  clause  accompaniment  as  adding  new  facts  ; 
in  other  words,  as  a  co-ordinating  clause.  This  consideration 
and  the  context  generally,  are  all  that  we  have  to  guide  us  in 
interpreting  the  moaning  of  the  relatives  '  who  '  and  '  which ' 
in  modern  English  style,  where  they  are  used  in  both  the  senses 
now  mentioned. 

THE  ADVERBIAL  CLAUSE. 

20.  An  Adverbial  Clause  is  the  equivalent 
of  an  Adverb,  and  modifies  a  Verb  :  'he  went 
away  after  the  sun  had  risen  '  (after  sunrise). 

Adverbial  clauses  form  the  greater  number  of  subordinate 
clauses,  and  may  be  divided  into  as  many  classes  as  adverbs, 
and,  like  them,  may  qualify  verbs,  adjectives,  or  other  adverbs. 

(I.)  Place:  'we  remain  where  we  are' ;  l wherever 
you  go  I  will  go  '. 
Such  clauses  are  introduced  by  the  relative  adverbs  of 

place  :  '  where ',  '  whither  ',  '  whence  ',  '  wherever  ',  '  whereso- 
ever ',  &c.  These  adverbs  both  connect  the  dependent  clause  to 
the  principal,  and  also  qualify  the  verb  of  the  dependent  clause. 
Thus,  in  the  expression  '  it  stands  where  I  placed  it ',  '  where  ' 
connects  '  I  placed  it'  with  'it  stands',  and  also  qualifies  '/ 
placed  it  '  by  an  adverb  of  place  ('  there  ') :  *  I  placed  it  there,  and 
it  stands  there  still '. 

,     (2.)  Time  :  'he  wrote  as  soon  as  the  news  arrived' ; 
1  we  left  wliile  lie  was  speaking ' ;  '  you  may  go  there  as 
often  as  you  please  '. 
Adverbial  clauses  of  time  are  introduced  by  the  relative 

adverbs   Of  time — '  when ',   '  while  ',   '  whenever ',  and   by 

the  prepositions  or  the  conjunctions  of  time— 'before  , 

'  after  ',  '  since ',  '  ere ',  '  until ',  '  as  soon  as ',  '  no  sooner  than', 
'just  when  ',  '  the  moment  that ',  &c. 

(3.)  Degree  :  '  the  sea  is  as  deep  as  the  mountains 
are  high  '  ;  'the  result  was  greater  than  I  anticipated* ; 
*the  more  you  have,  the  more  you  want '. 


THE    ADVERBIAL    CLAUSE.  279 

There  is  always  some  expression  denoting  comparison  in 
clauses  of  degree.  They  are  introduced  by  '  than  ',  '  as  ', 
'  the '.  They  are  attached  to  adjectives  and  adverbs  rather  than 
t>  verbs  ;  the  reason  being  that  degree  applies  more  properly  to 
qualities  than  to  actions  :  'he  is  stronger  than  I  am  '  ;  'he 
behaves  as  well  as  was  anticipated  '. 

These  adverbial  clauses  of  degree  undergo  the  peculiar  ellipsis 
seen  in  such  examples  as  'he  is  as  rich  as  Croesus  (is  rich)  ' ; 
1  he  works  harder  than  ever  (he  worked  hard) '. 

(4.)  Certainty  or  Uncertainty:  'assure  as  I 
speak,  you  will  repent  of  this  '.  Here  we  have  merely 
the  phraseology  of  degree  applied  to  assurance,  doubt, 
or  denial. 

We  may  also  include  under  the  present  head  the  relation  of 
Condition,  introduced  by  'if,  'unless',  'except',  'though', 
'  however ',  &c.  :  '  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not '  ;  '  though  he 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him  ' ;  '  however  you  may  try,  you 
will  not  gain  your  end  '.  In  sentences  containing  a  condition, 
the  clause  expressing  the  consequence  is  the  principal  clause, 
and  the  clause  expressing  the  condition,  supposition,  or  conces- 
sion, is  the  subordinate  clause  :  '  I  will  go  (principal)  if  it  should 
rain  Duke  Georges  for  nine  days  '  (subordinate). 

(5.)  Cause  or  Reason  :  the  garrison  surrendered, 
\beeaitse  their  provisions  failed '. 

These  clauses  are  introduced  by  the  conjunctions  '  because  ', 
'  as ',  '  since  ',  &c. 

Consequence  is  expressed  by  '  so  that '  :  '  a  storm  arose,  so 
that  we  could  not  leave  the  harbour '.  For  signifying  end  or 
purpose,  '  that ',  '  in  order  that ',  are  employed. 

(6.)  Manner  in  general.  Among  the  relations 
not  included  in  the  foregoing  heads  are  likeness, 
unlikeness,  and  various  unclassifiable  modes  of  action  : 
'  lie  did  as  he  was  told '. 

'  Manner '  is  often  expressed  by  an  adverbial  adjunct  containing  an 
adjective  clause  ;  as  '  train  up  a  child  in  the  way  that  it  should  go '.  Here 
the  clause  '  that  it  should  go '  qualifies  the  noun  '  way ',  and  is  not  an 
adverbial  clause,  though  occurring  in  an  adverbial  adjunct.  The  words 
'  mode ',  '  manner ',  &c.,  occur  in  the  same  construction.  In  the  sentence 
'we  should  have  arrived  sooner,  but  that  we  met  with  an  accident',  the 
subordinate  clause  is  considered  to  be  a  noun  clause,  governed  by  '  but ' 
as  a  preposition  ;  the  entire  expression  ('  but '  and  clause)  being  simply 
an  adverbial  prepositional  phrase. 


280  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF    SENTENCES. 

21.  The  Adverbial  Clause  is  contracted  by 
omitting  the  Verb,  or  by  changing  it  into  a 
Participle  :   '  while  (I  am)  on  this  part  of  the  subject 
I   may   remark ' ;    '  riding  (as   we    rode)  through  the 
wood,  we  met  an  old  man '. 

The  Compound  Sentence. 

22.  A  Compound  Sentence  contains   two 
or  more    (Simple    or    Complex)    Sentences 
united  :   'the  sun  rose,  and  the  mists  disappeared'; 
'he  came,  but  we  did  not  see  him';  'he  was  there, 
else  I  should  not  have  seen  him '. 

In  these  examples  the  separate  clauses  are  noways  dependent 
on  each  other.  Either  assertion  might  have  been  made  alone  ; 
we  might  have  said  '  the  sun  rose  ',  or  '  the  mists  disappeared  ', 
separately,  without  incompleteness  of  sense  ;  whereas  we  could 
not  break  up  a  complex  sentence  into  clauses  with  independent 
meaning  :  '  I  will,  if  I  can '.  It  is  true,  that  when  assertions 
are  coupled  together  in  the  same  period,  there  is  an  intention 
that  they  should  be  thought  of  together,  but  still  they  are  not 
such  that  the  one  is  dependent  on  the  other  for  a  complete 
meaning. 

The  co-ordinating  conjunctions  (PABTS  OF  SPEECH — Con- 
juncticm)  are  so  called  because  they  unite  co-ordinate  clauses. 

CONTRACTED   SE.  TENCES. 

23.  When  the  Co-ordinate  Clauses  of  a 
Compound  Sentence  have  the  same  Subject, 
the  same  Predicate,  or  any  other  part   in 
common,  we  may  avoid  repeating  the  com- 
mon part  and  thereby  shorten   or  contract 
the  expression  of  the  sentence;   as  'the  sun 
gives   light   and    (the   sun   gives)  heat';   'either  you 
(must  go)  or  I  must  go '. 

One  subject  may  have  two  or  more  Predicates,  as  in  the  first 
example  now  given.  One  predicate  may  have  a  plurality  of 
Subjects  ;  as  '  Hannibal  and  Ccesar  were  great  generals  '. 

There  may  be  a  plurality  of  Objects ;  as  '  whosoever  shall 
leave  houses  and  lands  for  my  sake  '. 

'  The  Adverbial  adjunct  of  the  predicate  may  be  the  common 
part :  '  he  advances  and  retires  sl&wly '. 


EXAMPLES    OF    ANALYSIS.  281 

'  Often  the  common  part  is  a  Subordinate  Clause  :  '  the  evil 
that  men  do  lives  after  them  ;  the  good  (that  men  do)  is  oft 
interred  with  their  bones  '. 

The  cumulative  conjunction  'and'  does  not  always 
indicate  a  compound  sentence,  as  there  are  cases  where  it 
joins  words  or  phrases  without  joining  assertions  (PARTS  OF 
SPEECH—  Conjunction).  But  the  alternative  conjunction  '  or ' 
can  couple  only  clauses.  When  we  say  '  he  drove  a  carriage, 
and  pair ',  '  carriage  and  pair '  makes  but  one  object  ;  but  the 
use  of  '  or  '  excludes  a  combination  of  this  kind  :  '  bring  either 
a  carriage  or  a  saddle  horse  '  is  a  contracted  sentence. 

In  co-ordinate  contracted  sentences  the  parts  joined  by 

the  conjunction  must  stand  in  the  same  relation  to 

the  common  part.  '  I  add  no  more  and  believe  me  yours 
truly'  is  an  irregular  construction,  for  the  conjunction  couples' 
a  verb  in  the  indicative — 'add ',  with  another  in  the  imperative. 
— '  believe  '  :  '  I '  is  not  the  subject  of  both  verbs. 

The  following  are  irregular  contractions  : — 

'This  dedication  may  serve  for  almost  any  book  that  has,  is, 
or  shall  be  published '  :  this  must  be  '  has  been,  is,  or  shall  be, 
published '.  '  There  are  principles  in  man  which  ever  have, 
and  ever  will  incline  him  to  this  offence';  for  'ever  have 
inclined,  and  ever  will  incline  '. 

When  clauses  are  placed  side  by  side   without  a 

Conjunction  expressed,  or  other  grammatical  link  (as  a  relative 
pronoun,  or  a  relative  adverb),  they  are  sometimes  termed. 
collateral ;  as  '  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered ' ;  '  this  is  the 
way  ;  that  road  goes  nowhere '.  In  such  constructions  a  certain 
rhetorical  effect  is  produced  by  the  ellipsis  of  the  conjunctions. 


EXAMPLES  OF  ANALYSIS. 

Simple  Sentences. 

24.   Form  of  Analysis.     In  analyzing   Simple 
Sentences  the  manner  of  proceeding  is  as  follows  : — 

I.  Set  down  the  Subject  of  the  sentence. 

II.  Set  down  the  enlargement,  or  attributive 
Adjuncts  of  the  Subject.     These  may  be  assumed 
to  be  restrictive,  unless  mentioned  as  co-ordinating. 


282  SYNTAX. —ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 

III.  Give  the   Predicate   Verb.    If  this  be  a 
verb  of   incomplete  predication,  state  the  Comple- 
ment also. 

IV.  When  the  predicate  is  a  transitive  verb,  state 
the  Object. 

V.  Set  down  the  enlargement,  or  attributive 
Adjuncts  of  the  Object. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjuncts  of  the  Predicate. 

When  the  various  parts  may   assume  different  forms,  the 
particular  form  present  should  be  mentioned. 

25.  Example  : — 

•  Night,  sable  goddess,  from  her  ebon  throne. 
In  rayless  majesty,  now  stretches  forth 
Her  leaden  sceptre,  o'er  a  slumbering  world,* 

I.  Subject,  'night'. 

II.  Attributive  adjunct  of  subject,    '  sable  goddess ',    noun  in 

apposition  (with  adj.  adjunct). 

III.  Predicate,  *  stretches '  (or  '  stretches-forth  *). 

IV.  Object,  'sceptre'. 

V.  Attributive  adjuncts    ( 1.   '  her  ' ;  possessive  adjective. 

of  objectt  (  2.  '  leaden '  ;  adjective. 

'  1.   '  from  her  ebon  throne '  ;  phrase  of 

place,  prep,  and  noun. 
2.    'in  ray  less  majesty'  ;    phrase  of 


VI.  Adverbial  adjuncts^ 
of  predicate, 


manner,  prep,  and  noun. 

3.  '  now  ' ;  adv.  of  time. 

4.  '  forth  ' ;  adv.  of  place. 

5.  '  o'er  a  slumbering  world  ' ;  phr. 

of  place,  prep,  and  noun. 


26.  '  The  neglect  to  lay  down  in  distinct  terms  the 
opposition  between  the  true  and  the  false,  has  been  the 
occasion  of  the  generally  unintelligible  character  of 
metaphysics.' 

I.  Subject,  'neglect*. 


SIMPLE    SENTENCES    ANALYSED. 


283 


II. 


Attributive  adjun  :ts 
of  subject, 


1.  'the';  adj.,  or  article. 

2.  '  to  lay  down  in  distinct  terms  the 

opposition  between  the  true 
and  the  false  ' ;  infin.  phrase 
object  to  the  verbal  noun 
'neglect'.  'Indistinctterms', 
adverbial  adjunct  of  manner, 
prcL  h  r.,  u  the  verb  'to  lay 
down  ' ;  *  the  (attribute  to}  0]  - 
position',  obj.  of  'to  lay 
down  ' ;  '  between  the  true  and 
the  false',  prep,  phr.,  adjunct 
to  '  opposition '. 
(I.  Verb  of  incomplete  pred.,  'has 

been  '. 

2.  Complement  of  pred.,  'the  occa- 
sion '  ;  noun,  modified  by  '  of 
the  generally  unintelligible 
character  of  metaphysics ', 

III.   Predicate.  •{  prep,  phr.,  the  noun  '  charac- 

ter' being  modified  by  (1) 
'  the ',  adj.  ;  (2)  '  unintelligi- 
ble '  (adj.),  qualified  in  turn 
by  adv.  of  extent  '  generally ' ; 
'  of  metaphysics  ',  prepl.  phr. 

27.  '  Having  first  procured  guides,  we  began  our 
ascent  of  the  mountain.' 

I.  Subject,  '  we  ' ;  pron. 

II.  Attributive  adjunct  (  '  having  first  procured  guides  '  ;  eo- 

of  subject,  \  ordinating  participial  phrase. 

III.  Predicate,  'began'. 

IV.  Object,  'ascent'. 

V.  Attributive  adjuncts  (  1.  '  our  ; '  poss.  adj. 

of  object,  |  2.   'of  the  mountain  ' ;  prep,  phrase. 

The  attributive  adjunct  of  the  subject,  '  having  first  procured- 

guides  ',  might  be  further  analysed  into  verb,  object,  and  adverb. 

28.  '  There  are  twenty  men  here.' 

I.  Subject,  '  men  '. 

II.  Adjunct  of  subject,  'twenty',  adj. 

TTT     T)    j-    t  S  1-  Incompl.  vb..  'are*. 

[II.  Predicate,  \  2    Complem.,  'here',  adv.  of  place. 

'  There ',  originally  an  adv.  of  place,  has  entirely  lost  its  force 
hi  this  application,  and  is  merely  a  formal  means  of  allowing  the 
inversion  of  the  sentence. 


284  SYNTAX.  —  ANALYSIS    OF    SENTENCES. 

29.  '  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  read.1 

I.   Subject,  '  he  '. 

III.  Predicate,  'gave'. 

IV.  Object  of  verb,  'letter'. 

V.  Adjunct  of  object,  'a',  adj.  or  article. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjuncts  i  1.    '  me  '  (i.e.,  '  to  me  '),  dative  pron. 
of  predicate,  12.    'to  read',  plir.  of  purpose  (gerund}. 

30.  '  It  is  vain  to  pretend  ignorance  of  the  fact.' 

I.  Subject,  'it,'  anticipative  pronoun. 

II.  Adjunct  of  subject,    'to  pretend  ignorance  of  the  fact'; 
infill,  phr.  in  apposition. 

TTT     T>    i-    t  (  Verb  of  incomplete,  predication,  'is'. 

\  Complement  of  predicate,  'vain',  adj. 

3I<  *  Who  are  you?' 
I.  Subject,  '  you  ',  pron. 

Verb  of  incomplete  predication,  '  are  '. 

III.  Predicate.  Complement    of   predicate,     '  who  ' 

pronoun. 

32.  'In  France  there  was  less  material  for  the 
Reformers  to  work  upon.' 

I.  Subject,  '  material  '. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  '  less  '  ;  adj. 

III.  Predicate,  '  was'  (=  existed). 
VI.  Adverbial  Adjuncts  of  Pred.  : 

1.  *  in  France  '  ;  phr.  of  place,  prep.  and.  noun. 

2.  '  for  the  Reformers  '  ;  prepl.  phr.  of  purpose  or  "benefit. 

3.  '  to  work  upon  '  ;  phr.  of  end  or  purpose,  gerund. 

4.  '  there  '.     May  be  set  down  as  formally  adverbial,  but  has 
become  a  mere  help  to  inversion.     (§  28)  . 

The  expression  '  for  the  Reformers  to  work  upon  '  may  also  be 
regarded  as  a  contracted  equivalent  to  an  adj.  clause  limiting 
'  material  '  ;  as  if  '  less  material  that  the  Reformers  might  work 
upon  '. 

33-   *  Two  may  keep  counsel,  putting  one  away.' 

I.  Subject,  'two'  (see  explanation  below). 

TTT     „     ,.    ,  11.   Incompl.  verb, 

III.  Predicate, 


IV.   Object  (of  Compl.  Infin.),  'counsel'. 
VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  Pred.,  '  putting  one  away  '  ;  phr.  of  con- 
dition, impersonal  participle  (§13,   (4).). 


SIMPLE    SENTENCES    ANALYSED.  285 

Strictly,  the  Subject  is  '  persons '  understood  ;  and  '  two  ',  a 
numeral  adj  ,  is  limiting  Adjunct  to  the  Subject.  So  'one'  in 
strictness  limits  'person',  which  is  left  unexpressed,  because 
easily  supplied  by  every  hearer.  The  omission  of  the  noun 
throws  the  force  of  it  upon  '  two',  which  may  therefore  be  allowed 
to  stand  as  subject. 

34.  '  Respecting  ourselves,  we  shall  be  respected  by 
the  world.' 

I.  Subject,  <  we  ',  pron. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  'respecting  ourselves',  co-ordinating 
participial  phrase,  with  the  force  of  an  advl.  expression  of  con- 
dition modifying  the  principal  clause  ;  =  '  if  or  since  we  respect 
ourselves,  &c.' 

III.  Predicate,  '  shall  be  respected  '. 

VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  Pred.,  '  by  the  world  ' ;  prepl.  phr.  of 
agency. 

35.  '  Leaning  my  head  upon  my  hand,  I  began  to 
figure  to  myself  the  miseries  of  confinement.' 

I .  Subject,  '  I '  ;  pron. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,   'leaning  my  head  upon  my  hand'  ; 
co-ordin.  parti,  phr.    The  participle  '  leaning '  has  obj.   '  head ' ' 
(limited  by  the  poss.  adj.  '•  my '),  and  advl.  phr.  of  place  or  posi- 
tion f  upon  my  head'  (prepl.). 

III.  Predicate,  'began'. 

IV.  Object,  '  to  figure ',  in/in. 

1.   'the   miseries  of  confinement'  ; 


V.  Adjuncts  of  Object, 


obj.  to  '  to  figure  '. 
'to  myself;  advl.  phrase  of  end, 
prepl. 


36.  *  Partakers  in  every  peril,  in  the  glory  shall  they 
not  partake  ? ' 

I.  Subject,  '  they '  ;  pron. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  'partakers  in  every  peril'  ;  noun  in- 
apposition,  with  the  force  of  an  advl.  expression  of  cause  or  reason, 
modifying  the  principal  clause  :  =  '  seeing  that  they  have  been1 
partakers — have  partaken — in  every  peril '. 

The  noun  '  partakers '  is  limited  by  '  in  every  peril ',  a  prepl. 
phrase  that  is  formally  adjective  but  really  advl.,  the  noun 
'  partakers  '  having  the  force  of  the  verb  '  partake  ',  as  is  seen  in 
the  equivalent  lengthened  expression  just  given. 


286  SYNTAX.  —  ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 


TTT     JW7  •/./»/«  fl-  Incompl.  verb,  'shall  not',  (negative). 

111.  Predicate,  -j  2    Complem.  '(to)  partake',  infin. 

VI.  ^c?uZ.  Adjunct  of  Pred.,  'in  the  glory  ',  ^repZ.  phr.  of 
reference. 

37.  '  To  impose  fresh  taxes  on  England  in  defiance 
of  law  would,  at  this  conjuncture,  have  been  madness.' 

I.  Subject,  '  to  impose  '  ;  infin. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject  : 

1.  '  fresh  taxes  '  :  obj.  to  '  to  impose  '. 

2.  '  upon  England  '  ;  advl.  prepl.  phr.  of  end. 

8.   '  in  defiance  of  law  '  ;  advl.  prepl.  phr.  of  opposition. 

TTT     PreMwtP  J  ll  IncomPL  vb->  '  would  have  been'. 

III.  fred  ^  2    Complem)  <  ma(ineSs'  ;  noun. 

VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  Pred.,  'at  this  conjuncture';  prepl. 
•jphrase  of  time. 

The  Adjuncts  of  the  Subject  in  this  example  are  in  the  usual 
;  forms  of  the  Object  and  the  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  the  Predicate. 
.The  reason  is  that  the  subject  is,  not  a  noun,  but  the  Infinitive 
of  a  transitive  verb.  Compare  the  Adjunct  of  the  Object  in 
§35. 

Complex  Sentences. 

38.  —  Form  of  Analysis.  —  These  are  to  be  ana- 
lyzed in  the  first  instance  as  if  each  subordinate  clause 
were  a  single  word  or  phrase.     The  subordinate  clauses 
are  then  to  be  analyzed  separately. 

EXAMPLES  CONTAINING  NOUN  CLAUSES. 

39.  '  That  he  committed  the  fault,  could  be  judged 
from  his  looks.' 

I.  Subject,  '  that  lie  committed  the  fault  ',  noun  clause  (a). 
TTT     T>   j-    f  (  Verb  of  incompl.  pred.  'could'. 

t  Complement  of  predicate,  'be  judged'. 

VI.  Adverbial  adjunct  of  predicate,  *  from  his  looks  ',  prepl. 
phrase  of  means  or  cause. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  'he'. 

III.  Predicate,  '  committed  '. 

IV.  Object,  'fault'. 

V.  Adjunct  of  object,  '  the  '. 

The  conjunction  '  that  '  does  not  enter  into  the  construction 
of  the  dependent  clause. 


COMPLEX   SENTENCES    WITH    NOUN    CLAUSES.        287 

40.  '  I  told  him  that  we  should  be  there '. 

I.  Subject,  T. 

III.  Predicate,  'told'. 

IV.  Object,  '  that  we  should  be  there ',  '  noun  clause,  (a). 
VI.  Adverbial  adjunct  of  Predicate,   '  him ',  =    '  to  him ', 

phrase  of  direction. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  'we'. 

TTT    Pndjj-ats  I  Vb'  of  incowpl.  pred.,  'should  be'. 

ate>  \  Complement,  '  there  ',  adv.  of  place. 

In  these  constructions  the  practice  has  been  to  term  '  him  ' 
the  indirect  object  of  the  verb,  but  we  may  also  regard  it  as  an 
adverbial  word  indicating  a  circumstance  connected  with  the 
act  of  telling.  It  is  important  to  compare  this  example  with 
the  following. 

41.  'I  strongly  warned   him   that   disaster   would 
follow  such  perversity '. 

I.  Subject,  '  I  . 

III.  Predicate,  'warned*. 

IV.  Object,  'him'. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct?  of  Predicate  :  1.  '  strongly  ',  adv.  of', 
degree.  2.  'that  disaster  would  follow  such  perversity,  noun 
clause  (a),  used  as  advl.  expression  of  reference. 

Analysis  of  (a), 

I.  Subject,  '  disaster  '. 

III.  Predicate,  '  would  follow '. 

IV.  Object,  '  perversity  '. 

V.  Adjunct  of  object,  'such',  adj. 

'  That '  introduces  the  noun  clause  and  connects  it  with  the 
principal. 

Here  '  him '  is  the  direct  object  of  '  warned '.  We  might  say 
'  I  told  or  mentioned  the  fact  that  we  should  be  there  '  ;  but  not 
'  I  warned  the  fact  that  disaster  would  follow  '.  Hence  in  the 
one  case  the  noun  clause  is  the  real  object  of  the  verb  ;  in  the 
other  case  it  is  not  the  object,  and  must  be  considered  as 
modifying  the  predicate. 

'  I  dreamt  that  I  dwelt  in  marble  halls '.  '  Dreamt'  may  bo 
regarded  as  transitive,  =  '  thought  in  a  dream '  ;  in  which  case 
the  noun  clause,  '  that  I  dwelt  in  marble  halls ',  is  the  object. . 
If  '  dreamt'  be  regarded  as  intransitive,  the  noun  clause  is  used 
as  an  adverbial  expression  of  reference. 


288  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES. 

42.  '  It   is   singular   that   you   should  make  that 
mistake.' 

I.  Subject,  'it'. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  '  that  you  should  make  that  mistake', 
'noun  clause  in  apposition,  (a). 

III.  Predicate,  \  %erb  f  incomplete  predication    « is  '. 

(  Complement  of  Pred. ,    singular  ,  adj. 
Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  'you'. 

III.  Predicate,  '  should  make  '. 

IV.  Object,  'mistake'. 

V.  Adjunct  of  Object,  '  that ',  demonstr.  adj. 

The  first  '  that '  is  merely  the  formal  word  introducing  the 
•noun  clause. 

The  aj^osition  is  more  impressively  brought  out  hy  the 
stronger  pronoun  '  this '.  '  We  know  this,  that  in  three 
campaigns  we  have  done  nothing '.  Compare  also  the  following 
'example. 

43.  '  Morality   is   deeply   interested   in   this,   that 
what  is  immoral  shall  not  be  made  attractive.' 

I.  Subject,  '  morality  '. 

ITT    Predicate  Jl.  Incompl.  verb,  < is'. 

ate>  12.  Complem.,  'interested',^/. 

VI.  Adv I.  Adjuncts  of  Predicate  : 

1.  '  deeply  ',  adv.  of  degree. 

2.  '  in  this ',  prepl.  phr.  of  reference,  the  reference  being 
given  in  '  that  what  is  immoral  shall  not  be  made  attractive  ', 
noun  clause  (a)  in  apposition  to  '  this  '. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  '  what  is  immoral ',  noun  clause  (a?). 

(\.  Incompl.      Verb,     'shall     not', 

negative. 

III.  Predicate,  \  2.  Complem. ,  '  be  made  attractive  ', 

itself  an  incomplete  infinitive 
I  with  adjective  complement. 

'  That  *  introduces  the  noun  clause. 

Analysis  of  (a2). 
I.  Subject,  'what'. 

TTT    -n    j'    j  11.  Incompl.  verb,  'is*. 

III.  Predicate,  \  2    Compfem,  ,  immoral  ,f  ^ 

44.  '  Tell  me  how  you  are.' 
I.  Subject,  *  you '  (understood). 


NOUN   CLAUSES   ANALYSED.  289 

III.  Predicate,  'tell'. 

IV.  Object,  l  how  are  you  ',  noun  clause  (a). 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  'me',  =  'to  me',  phrase 
of  direction  or  benefit. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  'you'. 

TTT    zwftv/y/*         J1-  Verb  of  incomplete  predication,  'are'. 
aie>        \  2.  Complement  of  predicate,  'how',  adv. 


45.  '  I  wish  to  know  where  you  live.' 
I.  Subject,  'I'. 

III.  Predicate,  'wish'. 

IV.  Object,  l  to  know  ',  infinitive. 

V.  Adjunct  of  Objectt  '  where  you  live  ',  noun  clause  (a),  object 
to  '  to  know  '. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  'you'. 
III.  Predicate,  'li\e*. 

VI.  Adverbial  adjunct  of  Predicate,  'where',  adv.  of  place. 

46.  *  What  seems  most  extraordinary  in  the  battle 
of  Sedgemoor  is  that  the  event  should  have  been  for  a 
moment  doubtful.' 

I.  Subject,  '  what  seems  most  extraordinary  in  the  battle  of 
Sedgemoor  '.  noun  clause  {a,  1). 
III.  Predicate-. 

1.  Incornpl.  verb,  '  is  *. 

2.  Complem.,    'that  the  event  should  have  been   for  a, 
moment  doubtful  ',  noun  clause,  (a  2). 

Analysis  of  (a  1). 
I.  Subject,  '  wh  it  '. 

TTT     T>    j-    t  J  1-  Incompl.  verb,  'seems*. 

III.  Predicate,  \  ^  Com/em^  <  eitraordinaiy  ',  adj. 

VI.  (1).  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,   'in   the   battle  of 
Sedgemoor  ',  prepl.  phrase  of  place. 

(2.)  AdvL  Adjunct  of  CompUm.  of  Pred.t   'most',  adverb  of 
degree. 

Analysis  of  (a  2). 

I.  Subject,  'event*. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  '  the  ',  adj. 

mD     ,.    ,  (  1.  Incompl.  verb,  'should  have  been*. 

.  Predicate,  j  2    Comp{cm  ^  ^  d'oubtfllr5  adj. 

VI.  AdvL  Adjunct  of  Prod.,  'loramoment\prepl.2)hr.oftime. 
'  That  '  introduces  the  noun  clause. 
19 


290  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES. 

47.  '  They  brought  home  numerous  evidences  that 
the  expedition  had  been  successful.' 

I.   Subject,  '  they  ',  pron. 
Til.   Predicate,  '  brought '. 

I V.  Object,  '  evidences  '. 

V.  Adjuncts  of  Object : 

1.  '  numerous  ',  adj. 

2.  '  that  the  expedition  had  been  successful ',  noun  clause, 
(a),  object  to    'evidences'  (in  consequence  of  the  verb  force 
contained  in  it;  for  'evidences'  =  'objects,  &c.,  evidencing  or 
proving'.     See  §  16.). 

VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  '  home ',  =  '  to  home ',  phr. 
of  place. 

Analysis  of  (a). 

I.  Subject,  '  expedition  '. 

II.  Adjunct  of  Subject,  '  the  ',  adj. 

Ill    Predicate  J1'  I/)lcomp?.  verb,  'had  been*. 

ate>  1 2.   Complem.,  '  successful ',  adj. 

1  That '  introduces  the  noun  clause. 

48.  'I  felt   certain   that  the  expedition  would  be 

successful.' 
I.  Subject,  'I'. 
TTT     r>    j-    t  f  !•  Incompl.  verb,  'felt'. 

III.  Predicate,  \  2    CompLn.,  <  certain  >,  adj. 

IV.  Object,  '  that  the  expedition  would  be  successful ',  noun 
clause  (a)  ;  the  pred.  '  felt  certain '  being  the  same  in  force  as 
'  firmly  believed ',  or  some  such  regular  transitive  verb  form. 
(See  §  16). 

Or,  the  noun  clause  may  be  regarded  as  an  Advl.  adjunct  of 
Predicate,  explaining  what  it  was  in  reference  to  that  '  I  felt 
certain  '.  (Compare  §  41,  end.). 

EXAMPLES   CONTAINING    ADJECTIVE    CLAUSES. 

4-9.  *  The  hill  that  you  see  in  the  distance  commands 
a  fine  prospect.' 

I.  Subject,  'hill'. 

!1.   'the',  adj.,  or  article. 
2.   '  that  you  see  in  the  distance ', 
adjective  clause,  (a). 

III.  Predicate,  '  commands  '. 

IV.  Object,  'prospect'. 

-rr      .,.  /.  ^7 .    ,     (  1.  '  a  ',  adj.  or  article. 

V.  Adjuncts  of  Object,  t* 


I.  Subject,  'you'. 
III.  Predicate,  'see'. 


ADJECTIVE    CLAUSES    ANALYSED.  291 

Analysis  of  (a). 


IV.  Object,  '  that ',  relative  pronoun. 

the  dis 

a  verb    implied,    as   '  standing,   rising, 
stretching  away  in  the  distance  '  ;  and  the  adjunct  is  co-ordina- 


V.  Adjunct  of  Object,  'in  the  distance  ',  prepl.  phrase  ;  really 
adverbial,    modifying 


ting. 

50.  '  Who  was  it  that  told  you.' 

I.  Subject,  'it'. 

II.  Adjunct  of  subject,  '  that  told  you  ',  adjective  clause  (a). 
ITT     Predicate  4  Verb  °f  incomPl-  predication,  '  was  '. 

I  Complement  of  predicate,  '  who  '. 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  '  that ',  relative  pronoun. 

III.  Predicate,  'told'. 

VI.  Adrl.  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  'you',  =  ' to  you',  prepl. 
phrase  of  direction  or  benefit. 

51.  '  The  labour  we  delight  in  physics  pain.' 

I.  Subject,  '  labour '. 

1.   ' the ',  adj. 


II.  Adjuncts  of  Subject  : 


2.   '(that)   we    delight   in',   adj. 


clause  (a), 

III.  Predicate,  'physics'. 

IV.  Object,  '  pain  '. 

Analysis  of  (a), 
I.  Subject,  '  we  ',  pron. 
III.  Predicate,  'delight'. 

VI.   Advl.  adjunct  of  Predicate,  '  (that)  in'  (=  'in  which'), 
prepl.  phrase  of  reference  or  cause. 

52.  *  Such  kings  as  regard  not  the  solemn  promises 
they  make  are  dangerous.' 

I.  Subject,  'kings'. 

"  1.   '  such ',  adj. 
2.   '  as  regard  not  the  solemn  pro- 


II.  Adjuncts  of  Subject : 


mises    they    make',     adj. 


clause  (a). 

TTT     •B^.JXM*.     \  !•  Incmnpl.  verb,  '  are  '. 

[II.  Predicate:   j  2    Compfem^  <dangerous',  adj. 

Analysis  of  (a). 

I.  Subject,    'as',   relative  pronoun  (adverbial  equivalent  to 
that '  or  '  who  ')• 


292  SYNTAX.  —  ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES. 

III.  Predicate,  '  regard  not  ',  negative. 

IV.  Object,  '  promises  '. 

V.  Adjuncts  of  Object  : 

1.  '  the  ',  adj. 

2.  '  solemn  ',  adj  . 

3.  '  (that)  they  make  ',  adj.  clause  (a2). 

Analysis  of  (a2). 
I.  Subject,  '  they  ',  pron. 
III.   Predicate,  'make'. 
[IV.  Object,  'that',  rel.  pron.,  understood.] 

53.  '  We  saw  the  place  where  the  Jacobite  standard 
was  raised.' 

Here  the  object,  '  place  ',  is  qualified  by  the  adjective  clause 
'  where  the  Jacobite  standard  was  raised  ',  which  is  analyzed 
thus  :  — 

I.  Subject,  l  standard  '. 


III.   Predicate,  '  was  raised  '. 
VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,   'where'  ;  relative  adv. 
of  place  (  =  '  in  which  ',  or  '  that-  in  '). 

54.  *  The  judges  of  the  common  law,  who  held  their 
situations  during  the  pleasure  of  the  King,  were 
scandalously  obsequious.' 

I.  Subject,  '  judges  '. 

II.  Adjuncts  of  Subject  : 

1.  '  the  ',  adj. 

2.  '  of  the  common  law  ',  prepl.  phr. 

3.  '  who  held  their  situations  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
King',  adj.  clause,  co-ordinating,  (a). 

This  co-ordinating  adj.  cl.  has  the  force  of  an  adverbial  adjunct 
of  cause  or  reason  :  '  The  judges  were  obsequious,  for  (because, 
feeing  that,  &c.,)  they  held  their  situations  during  the  pleasure  of 
the  King'.  (Cf.  p.  34,  bottom,  §18.) 

TTT     T>    j-    t       '  1-   Incom.pl.  verb  l  were  '. 

:   )2.   Complem.,  'obsequious',  adj. 

VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  (Compl.  of)  Pred.,  'scandalously',  adv. 
of  manner  and  degree  and  effect  or  consequence. 
Analysis  of  (a). 

I.  Subject*  '  who  ',  rel.  pron. 

III.  Pred.,  'held'. 

IV.  Object,  '  situations  '. 


ADJECTIVE  AND  ADVERBIAL  CLAUSES  ANALYSED.    293 

V.  Adjunct  of  Object,  '  their ',  poss.  adj. 

VI.  Advl.  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  '  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
King',  prep.  phr.  of  time  and  condition. 

EXAMPLES  CONTAINING  ADVERBIAL   CLAUSES. 

55.  '  When  I  look  upon  the  tombs  of  the  great, 
every  emotion  of  envy  dies  in  me.' 

I.  Subject,  (  emotion '. 

( 1.  *  every ',  adj. 

II.  Adjuncts  of  Subject,  J  2.  'of  envy',  adv.  phr.,  prep,  and 

[  noun. 

III.  Predicate,  'dies'. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjuncts\  £   \ ™™ 

of  Predicate,  J  thegreat',  adverbial  clause  (a). 

Analysis  of  (a). 
I.  Subject,  «!'. 

III.  Predicate,  'look  upon'. 

IV.  Object,  'tombs'. 

v.  w**<ron«,  {I 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  'when',  ady.  of  time. 

The  predicate  might  also  be  given  as  simply  'look  '  (intrans. 
verb).  'Upon'  is  then  a  prep.,  and  'upon  the  tombs  of  the 
great '  is  a  prepl.  phr.  of  place  and  direction  modifying  '  look  '. 

56.  *  He  is  proud  that  he  is  noble.' 

Principal  clause,  '  he  is  proud '. 

Subordinate  adverbial  clause,  '  (that)  he  is  noble '. 

The  expression  '  that  he  is  noble '  signifies  the  reason,  the 
'why  ',  of  his  being  proud  ('  because  '  might  have  been  used  in- 
stead of  '  that '),  and  is  therefore  an  adverbial  clause. 

57.  *  He  ran  so  fast  that  I  could  not  overtake  him.' 

Principal  clause,  '  he  ran  so  fast '. 

Subordinate  adverbial  clause  (attached  to  the  adverb  '  so ', 
which  it  modifies  or  defines),  '  that  I  could  not  overtake  him '. 

I.  Subject,  'he*. 

III.  Predicate,  'ran*. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  'fast'  (adv.  of  manner), 
modified  by  '  so '  (adv.  of  degree],  which  is  modified  by  '  that  I 
could  not  overtake  him* ,  advl.  clause. 


294  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS   OF   SENTENCES, 

Analysis  of  (a). 
L  Subject,  «If. 

Ill    Predicate     \  IncomPl-  verb  <could  not'»  negative. 

ace'     1  Compl.  ofpred. ,  ' (to)  overtake ',  infinitive. 

IV.   0#«rf,  'him'. 

VI.  Adverbial  Adjunct  of  Predicate,  '  that '. 

'That'  here  is  not  primarily  a  conjunction,  but  the  equivalent 
of  an  adverb  ;  *  he  ran  so  fast,  and  so,  or,  by  that,  I  could  not 
overtake  him  '. 

58.  This  example  may  be  compared  with  the 
following : — '  He  spoke  loud,  that  I  might  hear  him,' 

Principal  clause,  '  he  spoke  loud '. 

Subordinate  adverbial  clause,  '  that  I  might  hear  him '. 

In  this  case,  '  that '  is  still  adverbial,  qualifying  the  verb  of 
the  subordinate  clause  ;  it  is  equal  to  '  so  as ',  and  states  the 
circumstance,  manner,  or  means  of  my  hearing  him. 

If  we  employ  '  in  order  that '  as  the  connective,  the  case  is 
different ;  the  clause  '  that  I  might  hear  him '  is  then  a  noun 
clause  qualifying  'order'.  (Mason,  art.  354.)  But  'in  order 
that '  may  be  taken  as  a  phrasal  conjunction. 

69.  '  The  sea  is  as  deep  as  the  mountains  are  high.' 

Principal  clause,  '  the  sea  is  as  deep  '. 

Subordinate  adverbial  clause,  '  as  the  mountains  are  high '. 

I.  Subject  (with  adjunct],   'the  sea'. 

TIT     A~/7>/»/»  S  Verb  of  incomplete  predication,  '  \s\ 

\  Complement  of  predicate,  'deep  '. 

VI.  Adverbial  adjunct  of  complement  of  predicate,  '  as  '  (adv. 
of  degree),  modified  by  '  as  the  mountains  are  high ',  advl.  clause 
qf  degree  (a). 

Analysis  of  (a). 

I.  Subject,  '  the  mountains  '. 

TIT     D   j-    t  $  Verb  of  incomplete  predication,  'are'. 

111.  frea    ate,  {  Complement  of  predicate,  '  high '. 

VL  Advl.  adjunct  of  compl.,  'as',  relative  adv.  of  degree. 

60.  It  is  only  through  their  adverbial  force  that  some 
conjunctions  enter  into  the  construction  of  the  dependent 
clause. 

In  adverbial  clauses  introduced  by  the  subordinating  conjunc- 
tions 'if,  'though',  *  because',  'that',  &c.,  the  conjunction 
does  not  enter  into  the  construction  of  the  clause.  It  is  the 
adverbial  conjunctions,  '  when ',  '  where  ',  '  whenever ',  '  wher- 


COMPOUND  AND  CONTRACTED  SENTENCES  ANALYSED.    295 

ever  ',  '  as  ',  &c.,  that  are  considered  as  qualifying  the  subordinate 
clause  introduced  by  them. 

61.  *  ^e  must  not  think  the  life  of  a  man  begins 
when  he  can  feed  himself.' 

Principal  clause,  '  We  must  not  think  '  (A). 

Subordinate  noun  clause,  "  (that)  the  life  of  a  man  begins  *  (a). 

Adverbial  clause  subordinate  to  la),  '  when  he  can  feed  him- 
self  '(a*). 

Here  we  have  subordination  of  the  second  degree,  and  the 
whole  may  be  symbolically  expressed 


Compound  Sentences. 

62.  The  Co-ordinate  Sentences  are  to  be  analyzed 
separately,  and  the  link  of  connexion  indicated.    These 
separate  sentences,  when  complex,  are  to  be  analyzed  as 
such. 

"The  house  fell,  and  great  was  the  fell  thereof.  [A]  'The 
house  fell  ;  [B]  great  was  the  fall  thereof.  '  And  '  connects  [A] 
and[B]. 

'He  goes  [A!  (but)  it  is  intended  that  I  should  remain 
till  1  grow  stronger'  [B  +b+  Vs]. 

Contracted  Sentences. 

63.  In  these  the  omitted  parts  must  be  expressed 
at  full  length,   after  which  the  analysis    proceeds  as 
above. 

'  Frogs  and  seals  live  on  land  and  in  water  '.  Here  there  are 
four  sentences.  'Frogs  live  on  land';  'frogs  live  in  water'; 
'  seals  live  on  land  '  ;  *  seals  live  in  water  '. 

*  I  am  the  first  and  (I  am)  the  last' 

In  the  following  example  the  contraction  takes  place  in  the 
subordinate  part  of  a  complex  sentence  :  *  when  a  man  is  from 
necessity  his  own  tailor,  tent-maker,  carpenter,  cook,  huntsman, 
aud  fisherman,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  will  be  expert  at  any  of 
his  callings  '.  So  in  this  :  '  say  first,  for  Heaven  hides  nothing 
from  thy  view,  nor  the  deep  tract  of  Hell  '. 

Again  :  tin  all  times  and  in  all  places,  man  has  sought  to 
understand  the  language  of  nature  '. 

64.  Let  .us  present  an  analysis  of  the   following 
compound  sentence  :  — 


296  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF   SENTENCES. 

'The  theory  of  the  Mahometan  government  rests  npon  the 
maintenance  of  a  clear  .separation  from  the  unbelievers  ;  and  to 
•propose  to  a  Mussulman  of  an}'  piety,  that  the  Commander  of  the 
Faithful  should  obliterate  the  distinction  between  Mahometans 
and  Christians  would  be  proposing  to  obliterate  the  distinction 
between  virtue  and  vice  :  the  notion  would  seem  to  be  not  merely 
wrong  and  wicked,  but  a  contradiction  in  terms. ' 

Analysis  of  sentence  : — A.   '  The  theory—  unbelievers '. 
I.   Subject  (with  adjuncts),  'the  theory  of  government '. 

III.  Predicate,  '  rests  upon  '.     (Compare  '  look  upon  ':§  55. ) 

IV.  Object  (with  adjuncts),  'the  maintenance— unbelievers'. 
B.   '  To  propose— virtue  and  vice '. 

I.  Subject,  '  to  propose  '.  infinitive. 

II.  Adjuncts  of  Subject : 

1.  'that  the  Commander Christians',  noun  dause  (5). 

2.  'to  a  Mussulman  of  any  piety1,  advl.  phrase  (prep,  and 
noun)  of  end  or  direction. 

Ill    Predicate  J  Vrr^  °fincomPl-  P> ed- »  *  would  to'. 

1  Com.pl.  oj'pred.,  'proposing',  infin. 

IV.  Object  of  verb,  '  to  obliterate  ',  infinitive. 

V.  Adjunct  of  Object :    '  the  distinction  between  virtue  and 
vice ',  object  (with  adjuncts)  to  infin.  '  to  obliterate '. 

Analysis  of  (b). 

I.  Subject  (with  adjuncts),  '  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful '. 

III.  Predicate,  '  should  obliterate  '. 

IV.  Object  (with  adjuncts),  '  the  distinction  between  Mahome- 
tans and  Christians'. 

The  third  division  of  the  sentence  is  greatly  contracted.  The 
full  expression  is  :  '  the  notion  would  seem  to  be  not  merely 
wrong  [c]  and  (the  notion  would  seem  to  be  not  merely)  wicked 
[D],  but  (the  motion  wonld  seem  to  be)  a  contradiction  in  terms ' 
[E].  Sometimes  such  an  expression  as  *  wrong  and  wicked  '  may 
be  viewed  as  a  compound  predicate,  the  two  words  being 
intended  to  convey  but  one  notion  to  the  mind.  '  And  '  con- 
nects A  and  B,  C  and  D  ;  'but'  connects  E  with  C  and  with  D, 
being  anticipated  by  '  not  merely  ' ;  there  is  no  connecting  link 
expressed  between  B  and  C.  '  That '  connects  b  aaid  B. 

Elliptical  Sentences. 

65.  Ellipsis  is  the  omission  of  some  part  essential  to 
a  complete  construction  for  the  sake  of  brevity  and 
strength.  What  is  left  is  regarded  as«suincient  to 
convey  the  intended  meaning. 


ELLIPTICAL   SENTENCES   ANALYSED.  297 

The  Contracted  Sentences  aBove  spoken  of  are  one 
class  of  Elliptical  Sentences  ;  the  part  common  to  two 
or  more  Co-ordinate  Sentences  being  expressed  only 
once.  Another  class,  somewhat  more  difficult,  are 
those  involving  the  Comparative  Adverbs,  '  as ',  '  than ', 
and  '  the '. 

66.  'He  is  as  tall  as  I  am.' 

In  full,  '  he  is  as  tall  as  I  am  tall '.  Principal  clause,  '  he  is 
as  tall '  ;  adverbial  adjunct  of  the  complement  of  the  predicate, 

*  as '  (modified  by  the  adverbial  clause)  '  as  I  am  tall '. 

The  predicate  of  the  elliptical  or  dependent  clause  is  '  tall ', 
and  this  is  compared,  by  means  of  the  relative  adverb  '  as  ',  with 
the  degree  of  tallriess  expressed  in  the  principal  clause.  It  is 
analogous  to  the  sentence  already  given, — 'the  sea  is  as  deep  as 
the  mountains  are  high  '. 

67.  '  He  is  taller  than  I  am.' 

In  full,  '  he  is  taller  than  I  am  tall '.  Principal  clause,  '  he 
is  taller ' ;  adverbial  clause,  '  I  am  tall  than  ',  where  '  than ' 
(which  is  originally  '  then ')  is  an  adverb  of  degree,  qualifying 

*  tall '.     '  He  is  taller,  then  (next,  in  an  inferior  degree)  I  am 
tall.' 

68.  '  He  is  more  industrious  than  clever.' 

In  full  :  *  he  is  more  industrious  than  he  is  clever '.  Analyzed 
thus  :— 

I.  Subject,  'he*. 

TTT    n   //•    /  £  Verb  of  incomplete  predication,  'is  '. 

1  CompL  of  predicate,  '  industrious '. 

VI.  Adverbial  adjunct  of  the  complement,  '  more '  (adv.  of  de- 
gree], modified  by  '  than  he  is  clever '  (advl.  clause  of  degree)  (a) 
(analyzed,  'he  is  clever  than').  Literally,  this  construction 
means,  '  he  is  industrious  more—  then  he  is  clever  '.  There,  would 
seem  to  be  a  tautology  in  the  English  idiom,  for  either  word, 

*  more  '  or  '  than  ',  would  have  expressed  the  comparison. 

69.  '  He  has  not  written  so  much  as  I  have.' 

In  full,  '  so  much  as  I  have  written  much  '.  The  adverb  'as  ' 
is  an  adverb  of  degree  qualifying  '  much  '  understood.  '  I  have 
written  much,  he  has  not  written  much  (to  the  same  degree)',  is 
the  mode  of  rendering  the  construction.  Or.  '  1  have  written 
much  so  (compared  by  a  certain  quantity),  he  has  not  written 
much  so  (compared  by  the  same  quantity)'. 


298  SYNTAX. — ANALYSIS    OF    SENTENCES. 

70.  *  He  has  written'  more  letters  than  you.' 

In  full,  '  he  has  written  more  letters  than  you  have  written 
many  letters ' ;  '  he  has  written  many  letters  more  ('  many  more ', 
or  'more  many',  =  more,  or  many-er) — then  you  have  written 
many  letters  '. 

71.  'He  does  not  write  so  well  as  you.' 

'  He  does  not  write  so  well  as  you  ivritc  well.1  *  As  '  modifies 
the  second  '  well ',  iu  correspondence  with  '  so  '  modifying  the 
first  '  well '.  '  He  does  not  well  so  (in  that  degree)  a*  (in  which 
degree)  well  you  write.' 

72.  '  I  would  as  soon  die  as  suffer  that.' 

*  I  would  as  soon  die,  as  I 'would  soon  suffer  that.'  In  other 
words,  '  I  would  die  as  soon  as  soon  I  would  suffer  that '.  The 
'  as— as r  here  is  precisely  similar  to  the  '  so — as '  in  the  preceding 
example  (§71). 

73-  '  As  ',  after  '  such '  and  '  same  ',  employed  as 
equivalent  to  the  restrictive  relative,  is  a  case  of  ellipsis. 

'  The  house  is  not  such  as  I  want.'  '  The  house  is  not  such 
a  house  as  I  want  a  house. '  '  A  house  I  want  is  so,  the  house 
is  not  such  '  (or  so-like,  or  'like  to  that').  The  full  correspon- 
dpin-e  was  well  given  by  the  ancient  'such — such  '. 

74.   '  I  am  not  such  a  fool  as  to  believe  that.' 

hi  lull,  '  I  am  not  such  a  fool  as  I  should  be  a  fool  to  believe 

dial '.      '  1  should  be  a  fool  to  believe  that  (if  I  were  to  believe 

th:it). '     '  I  am  not  a  fool  such  (or  so,  or  '  like  that ',  or  '  to  that 

d'-.grei; ')  a-s  (in  which  degree)  a  fool  I  should  be  to  believe  that.' 

75-   '  Our  habits  are  costlier  than  Lucullus  wore.' 
4  Than  Lucullus  wore  costly  habits  ',  or  '  than  the  habits  wer$ 

costly  that  Lucullus  wore  '.      '  Our  habits  are  costly  more — then 

costly  habits  Lucullus  wore.' 

76.  '  Moderation   in   the   use   of   food  is  a  better 
ruinody  than  medicine  for  an  oppressed  state  of  the 
cii-nulation.' 

'  Than  medicine  is  a  good  remedy.' 

77.  To    resolve    a   compound    sentence   into   the 
simple  or  complex  sentences  composing  it,  often  enables 
us  to  detect  a  fault  in  its  construction. 


CONCORD.  299 

'  Because  he  had  committed  a  crime,  he  was  shut  up  in  prison 
and  let  out  again  only  yesterday.'  As  it  stands,  the  sentence  is 
resolvable  into  these  two  :  '  because  he  had  committed  a  crime, 
he  was  shut  up  in  prison  ',  and  '  because  he  had  committed  a 
crime,  he  was  let  out  only  yesterday  '.  It  should  be,  '  because 
he  had  committed  a  crime,  he  was  shut  up  in  prison  ;  and  he 
was  let  out  again  only  yesterday  '  ;  or,  '  and  it  was  only  yesterday 
that  he  was  let  out  again  '. 

78.  A  Relative  Pronoun,  as  subject,  is  frequently 
omitted  in  poetry,  not  often  in  prose. 

In  the  sentence,  '  there  was  a  man  showed  me  the  way  ',  the 
analysis  will  determine  exactly  what  is  wrong.  There  is  but 
one  subject,  '  man  ',  to  two  finite  verbs,  making  up  two  distinct 
assertions.  Now  this  is  admissible  only  in  a  compound 
contracted  sentence  ;  but  the  form  of  such  a  sentence  would  be 
*  a  man  was  there  and  showed  me  the  way  '.  Every  assertion, 
and  consequently  every  finite  verb,  must  have  a  subject,  and 
every  subject  must  have  a  predicate  or  finite  verb.  The 
insertion  of  the  relative  would  supply  a  subject  to  the  second 
verb  in  the  above  sentence.  Further  instances  :  '  there  is  a 
garden  goes  along  with  the  house  ' ;  '  who  was  it  took  the  news 
to  Hall  Farm  ? '  '  haply  I  see  a  man  will  save  my  life ' ;  '  now 
who  be  ye  would  cross  Lochgyle  ? ' 


CONCORD. 

I.  The  general  principles  or  processes  regulating 
the  grammatical  union  of  words  in  sentences  are  three 
in  number — Concord,  Government,  and  Order 

or  arrangement  of  words. 

When  two  connected  words  are  of  the  same 
Gender,  Number,  Person,  or  Tense,  they  are 
said  to  agree  with  one  another,  or  to  be  in  Concord. 
Speaking  of  a  man  we  have  to  say  he,  of  a  woman  she, 
of  a  plurality  of  persons,  they  ;  these  are  agreements  or 
concords. 

In  point  of  fact,  these  concords  are  already  taught  under 
Etymology.  We  have  seen  that  'he'  means  a  man,  'she'  a 
woman,  &c. ;  that  when  a  noun  is  in  the  plural,  there  is  a 


300  SYNTAX.—  CONCORD. 

peculiar  inflexion  of  the  verb  to  correspond  with  it  ('they  call', 
not  calls),  and  also  a  certain  inflexion  of  the  demonstrative 
adjectives  ('  these,  not  this,  houses  '}.  Hence  the  expressions, 
'  the  trees  grows  ',  '  those  sort  of  things  ',  are  errors  of  Etymology 
as  well  as  of  Syntax.  What  is  left  to  Syntax  is  merely  to  explain 
sonic  difficult  and  doubtful  cases,  where  we  are  not  quite  sure  what 
flhu  person,  n umber,  gender,  or  tense  of  a  word  really  is. 

Concord  of  Subject  and  Verb. 

2.  A  Verb  must  agree  with  its  Subject  in 
Number  and  in  Person  ;  and  the  Subject  of 
the  Verb  is  always  in  the  Nominative  Case. 

The  verb  and  the  subject,  being  both  spoken  of  the  same 
thing,  must  agree  with  each  other  ;  if  they  did  not,  there  would 
be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  If  'John'  is  the  name  for  one 
individual,  and  'write'  is  the  form  that  predicates  the  action, 
'  writing ',  for  a  plurality  of  individuals,  then  '  John  write  '  is  a 
discord,  or  wrong  combination. 

This  rule  is  seldom  transgressed  in  short  sentences  except  by 
]  mi-sous  altogether  untaught.  Such  expressions  as  '  says  I ', 
1  ho  do ',  '  we  sees  ',  '  the  shops  is  not  open  ',  are  mistakes  of  the 
grossest  kind.  But  in  longer  sentences,  where  several  names 
oc-'ur,  the  verb  is  sometimes  inadvertently  referred  to  what  is  not 
tlw  real  subject.  The  following  are  examples  of  the  kind  of 
sti  licture  retered  to  :  '  the  origin  of  the  city  and.  state  of  Eome 
is  involved  in  great  uncertainty '  ;  '  the  momentary  junction  of 
several  tribes  produces  an  army  '.  These  are  correct ;  but  many 
instances  of  errors  arising  in  similar  constructions  could  be 
produced.  For  example  :  '  his  reputation  was  great,  and  some- 
what more  durable  than  that  of  similar  poets  have  generally 
Iwen  '.  '  Railroads  seem  now,  however,  to  be  likely  to  supersede 
most  other  methods  of  conveyance,  in  so  far,  at  least,  as  the 
transit  of  goods  and  passengers  are  concerned. '  '  The  patronage 
vhich  the  British  Colonies  affords  to  the  home  government  is 
immense. '  '  The  lighting  and  cleaning  of  the  streets  is  not  nearly 
so  good  as  in  the  large  towns  of  England.'  'The  opinion  of 
.si-veral  eminent  lawyers  ivere  in  his  favour.' 

3.  Collective  Nouns,  though  Singular  in  form, 
take  a  Plural  Verb  if  the  Predicate  applies  to 
the  objects  taken  individually  ;  as  '  the  peasantry 
yo  barefooted,  and  the  middle  sort  make  use  of  wooden 
shoes ' ;  '  one  half  of  men  do  not  know  how  the  other 
half  live '. 


VERB  WITH  ORDINARY  AND  COLLECTIVE  SUBJECTS.   301 

"When  what  is  affirmed  of  the  noun  is  an  action  that  can  be 
true  of  the  whole  mass  in  its  collective  unity,  the  verb  is  then 
singular  ;  as  '  the  fleet  is  under  orders  to  set  sail  '.  When  wi* 
say  '  the  British  nation  has  not  sprung  up  in  a  generation  ',  v\>- 
speak  of  the  nation  as  a  collective  organized  whole.  So  '  the 
House  (of  Lords,  or  of  Commons)  resolves '  ;  '  the  Assembly  ha.s 
decreed  '  ;  '  the  Senate  is  of  opinion  ' ;  '  the  army  was  dis- 
organized '  ;  'the  mob  was  dispersed '  ;  'the  invading  force 
(army  and  fleet)  was  in  progress  towards  Attica  '  ;  '  one  fourth 
of  the  men  at  the  diggings  is  composed  of  convicts  '. 

Contrast  these  with  the  cases  where  the  predicate  applies  to 
the  individuals  of  the  collection  acting  separately.  '  The  people 
of  the  rude  tribes  of  America  are  remarkable  for  their  artifice 
and  duplicity.'  Here  what  is  affirmed  applies  to  the  individual 
Americans  acting  singly  and  apart.  '  The  generality  of  his 
hearers  were  favourable  to  his  doctrines  '  ;  '  the  public  are  often 
deceived  by  false  appearances  and  extravagant  pretensions ' — 
meaning  the  members  of  the  community  taken  individually  ; 
'  a  considerable  number  were  induced  to  quit  the  body  '.  The— 
following  sentence  sounds  awkward,  but  it  is  strictly  correct : 
'  The  Megarean  sect  was  founded  by  Euclid,  not  the  mathema- 
tician, and  were  the  happy  inventors  of  logical  syllogism,  or  the 
art  of  quibbling '  (Tytler).  In  the  first  part,  the  sect  is  spoken 
of  in  its  collective  capacity  ;  and,  in  the  second,  as  individuals. 
'  There  is  a  certain  class  of  men  who  never  look',  &c.,  may  be 
justified  on  the  same  ground.  So  '  the  people  is  one,  and  they 
have  all  one  language '.  The  pronoun  before  the  second  verb  is 
a  great  improvement.  '  Their  cattle  was  their  chief  property  ; 
and  these  were  nightly  exposed  to  the  southern  Borderers' 
(Scott). 

There  are  a  few  cases  where  usage  is  not  invariable.  In 
speaking  of  small  bodies,  such  as  those  indicated  by  a  Board,  a 
Commission,  a  Council,  a  Court,  the  plural  verb  is  frequently 
used  :  '  the  Board  are  of  opinion  ' ;  '  the  Committee  consider '  ; 
'  the  Court  are  disposed '.  This  may  be  explained  on  the 
ground  that  the  members  in  a  body  of,  say  two,  three,  or  six, 
stand  forward  more  prominently  in  their  individual  capacity, 
whereas  in  an  assembly  of  three  hundred,  the  individual  is 
entirely  merged  in  the  collective  vote. 

The  following  examples  are  incorrect  : — '  The  meeting  were 
large '  (would  mean  that  it  was  composed  of  large  men)  ; 
'Stephen's  party  were  entirely  broken  up  '  ;-  '  mankind  was  not 
united  by  the  bonds  of  civil  society  '  ;  '  the  Church  have  no 
power  to  inflict  corporal  punishments'  ;  'in  this  business  the 
House  of  Commons  have  no  w?ight '  ;  '  a  detachment  of  two 
hundred  men  were  immediately  sent ' ;  '  one  man  of  genius 


302  SYNTAX. — CONCORD. 

accomplishes  what  a  crowd  of  predecessors  has  essayed  in  vain  ' ; 
'  not  one  fourth  of  provincial  tradesmen  or  farmers  ever  take 
stock  ;  nor,  in  fact,  does  one  half  of  them  ever  keep  account- 
books  deserving  of  the  name '.  The  following  is  at  least 
inconsistent :  '  when  a  nation  forms  a  government,  it  is  not 
wisdom,  but  power,  which  they  place  (it  places)  in  the  hands  of 
the  Government ',  &c.  A  judge  charging  a  jury,  vacillated  in 
the  construction  of  the  word  *  Court ',  thus  :  '  It  was  satisfactory 
to  the  Court  to  find  that  it  would  be  incumbent  on  them,  &c. 
.  .  .  The  Court,  therefore,  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty. 
.  .  .  The  Court  believe.  .  .  .  The  Court  is  not  entirely 
satisfied  with  the  finding  of  the  jury.  .  .  .  The  Court,  in 
the  sentence  which  it  is  about  to  pronounce  by  my  mouth ',  &c. 


Pleasures  of  Memory  was  published  in  1792,  and  became  at 
once  popular.'  The  pro-ioun  in  the  following  should  be 
singular  :  '  His  (Thomson's)  Seasons  will  be  published  in  about 
a  week's  time,  and  a  most  noble  work  they  will  be  '.  Johnson 
says  '  my  Lives  are  reprinting ',  which  it  might  be  harsh  to 
alter,  owing  to  the  great  prominence  of  the  nption  of  plurality. 
In  the  next  example  the  singular  idea  of  distance  is  prominent : 
'  By  my  valour,  then,  Sir  Lucius,  forty  yards  is  a  good  distance. 
Odds  levels  and  aims  !  I  say  it  is  a  good  distance. '  (Rivals). 
|  Nine-tenths  of  the  miseries  and  vices  of  mankind  proceed  from 
idleness '  (Carlyle)  ;  the  verb  is  plural,  because  predicating 
about  a  number.  But  '  nine-tenths  of  the  misery  and  vice  of 
mankind  proceeds  from  idleness '  ;  the  verb  being  singular, 
because  the  subject  expresses,  not  plurality  of  number,  but  an 
amount  or  quantity. 

But  those  nouns  that  have  plural  forms  on  account  of  a 
plurality  of  the  subject,  such  as  '  bellows  ',  '  scissors ',  '  snuffers ', 
'  lungs  ',  '  ashes  ',  &c.,  are  more  usually  found  with  plural  verbs. 

Although  we  should  say,  '  there  are  two,  there  are  three ', 
yet  usage  permits  in  familiar  language  the  singular  contracted 
form,  '  there's  two  or  three  '. — (Craik,  English  of  Shakespeare). 

4.  If  the  subject  consists  of  two  or  more 
nouns  (or  equivalents  of  nouns)  united  by  the 
conjunction  'and  f,  the  Verb  must  be  put  in 
the  plural:  'John  and  James  are  in  the  field'; 
'  Mars  and  Jupiter  are  visible  '. 

*  Dr.  Angus  would  prefer  the  plural,  as  least  likely  to  call  attention  to 
the  mere  grammar  of  the  sentence  :  '  the  means  used  were  not  commend- 
able ' ;  '  great  pains  were  taken  '. 


VERB  WITH  MORE  THAN  ONE  SUBJECT.     303 

Exceptions  and  Peculiarities. 

(1).  If  the  nouns  are  names  for  the  same  subject,  the 
plurality  is  apparent  only,  and  not  real.  The  verb 
is  then  singular. 

'  A  laggard  in  love  and  a  dastard  in  war 
Was  to  wed  the  fair  Ellen  of  brave  Lochinvar.' 
'This  murderous  chief,  this  ruthless  man, 
This  head  of  a  rebellious  clan, 
Hath  led  theesafe.' 

'  The  spectator  and  historian  of  his  exploits  has  ohserved. ' 
'  When  the  Duke  died,  his  son  and  namesake  and  successor  was 
an  infant. '  With  inversion  :  '  so  says  the  wisest  poet,  and 
perhaps  the  wisest  statesman  and  politician  of  antiquity '. 
(Chatham). 

(2).  In  cases  where  the  two  names  are  almost  synony- 
mous, or  denote  objects  closely  connected  together,  or 
express  different  views  of  the  same  fact,  or  are  used 
chiefly  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  there  is  still  a  kind 
of  unity  in  the  subject,  and  the  verb  is  often  made 
singular. 

'Wherein  doth  sit  the  dread  and  fear  of  kings';  'the  head 
and  front  of  my  offending  hath  this  extent';  'the  hardship  and 
exposure  of  a  savage  life  speedily  destroys  those  who  are  not 
of  a  robust  constitution';  'why  is  dust  and  ashes  proud'? 
'  What  is  the  use  and  object  of'  building  pinnacles '  ?  (Helps). 
'  The  peace  and  good  order  of  society  was  not  promoted  by  the 
feudal  system  '  (Hallam).  '  The  very  scheme  and  plan  of  his 
life  differed  from  that  of  other  men.'  (Ecce  Homo).  '  The 
condition  and  growth  of  Attic  comedy  before  this  period  seems 
to  have  been  unknown  even  to  Aristotle '  (Grote).  '  The 
general  defence  of  the  country  and  the  maintenance  of  order 
among  the  inhabitants  was  entrusted  to  Saganos,  who  was 
invested  with  the  revenue  necessary  for  the  purpose '  (Finlay). 
'  The  language  and  history  of  the  Lithuanians  is  closely 
connected  with  that  of  the  Greeks '  (Freeman).  '  To  recover 
Silesia,  to  humble  the  dynasty  of  Hohenzollern  to  the  dust, 
was  the  great  object  of  Maria  Theresa's  life  '  (Macaulay).  The 
first  object  involved  the  second  ;  hence  '  was ',  not  '  were  ', 
With  this  compare  the  following  :  '  to  exalt  the  Lancastrian 
party,  to  depress  the  adherents  of  the  house  of  York,  were  still 
the  objects  of  his  pursuit '  (Hume).  Looked  at  broadly,  the 
two  objects  were,  substantially  the  same,  and  '  was  '  might  have 
been  used  ;  at  the  same  time  '  were '  directs  attention  forcibly 


304  SYNTAX. — CONCOED. 

to  each  of  the  two  sides  of  the  same  fact.  In  the  next  example, 
the  subject  is  given  twice  ;  first,  more  generally,  and  then  with 
some  detail  and  explanation  :  '  that  the  fair  prospects  which 
had  begun  to  open  before  the  king  were  suddenly  overcast,  that 
his  life  was  darkened  by  adversity,  and  at  length  shortened  by 
violence,  is  to  be  attributed  to  his  own  faithlessness  and  con- 
tempt of  law '  (Macaulay). 

In  many  such  cases  it  is  not  easy  to  draw  the  line  and  decide 
when  the  subject  is  singular  and  when  plural.  But  it  is  always 
undesirable  to  vacillate  between  the  two.  Thus  :  '  neither  on 
the  one  side  nor  on  the  other  was  there  the  strength  and  unity  of 
action  which  remit  from  single  and  undivided  aims  '  (Trench)  ; 
'  with  a  deep  insight  into  life,  and  a  keen  and  comprehensive 
sympathy  with  its  sorrows  and  enjoyments,  there  is  combined 
[in  the  lyrics]  that  impetuosity  of  feeling,  that  pomp  of  thought 
and  imagery  which  belong  peculiarly  to  Schiller '  (Carlyle), 

'  Fair  and  softly  goes  far' ;  'poor  and  content  is  rich  enough '. 

(3).  A  singular  verb  may  sometimes  be  justified  on 
the  ground  of  an  ellipsis. 

*  The  whole  book,  and  every  component  part  of  it,  is  on  a 
large  scale'  (Macaulay).  With  the  most  common  cases  of 
ellipsis,  there  is  also  inversion  of  subject  and  verb.  '  There  was 
a  hen  and  (there  were)  chickens  in  the  court '  ;  '  there  was 
racing  and  (there  was)  chasing  on  Cannobie  Lea '  ;  upon  this 
there  was  a  fearful  cry  from  heaven,  and  great  claps  of  thunder' 
(W.  Irving)  ;  *  such  was  the  intelligence,  the  gravity,  and  the 
self-command  of  Cromwell's  warriors  '  (Macaulay)  ;  *  where  is 
Lysander  and  sweet  Hermia '  ?  (Shak.). 

When  the  same  noun  is  coupled  with  two  adjectives,  so  as  to 
mean  different  things,  there  is  a  plurality  of  sense,  and  the 
plural  is  required  :  '  in  the  latter  also  religious  and  grammatical 
learning  go  hand  in  hand '  ;  'the  logical  and  the  historical 
analysis  of  a  language  generally  in  some  degree  coincide  '. 

When  a  verb  separates  its  subjects  it  agrees  with  the  first, 
and  is  understood  of  the  rest :  '  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the 
fullness  thereof '.  See  also  the  cases  of  '  as  well  as ',  and 
'  every  ',  at  end  of  §  4. 

The  last  examples  under  (2)  are  very  elliptical. 

(4).  Sometimes  a  compound  subject  is  named  by  a 
union  of  the  names  of  its  chief  parts ;  and  then  the 
'verb  is  singular. 

Another  exception  to  the  general  rule  is  exemplified  in  the 
following  constructions  :  '  the  wheel  and  axle  was  out  of  repair' j 


SEVERAL   SUBJECTS   WITH   SINGULAR   VERR         305 

'  a  block  and  tackle  was  made  use  of '  ;  '  bread  and  butter  is 
my  usual  breakfast '.  In  these  instances,  the  two  things  named 
make  but  one  subject  by  their  combination,  called  a  compound 
subject.  We  may  say,  '  a  needle  and  a  thread  were  given  to  her, 
but  she  could  not  thread  the  needle  ' ;  and  '  a  needle  and  thread 
was  given  to  her,  but  she  could  not  sew  the  button  on '  :  the 
reason  of  the  difference  being  apparent.  'Hanging  and 
beheading  is  the  punishment  of  treason ',  means  that  the 
criminal  is  both  hanged  and  beheaded  ;  '  hanging  and 
beheading  are ',  would  mean  that  there  are  two  separate 
punishments,  and  that  sometimes  one  is  made  use  of  and 
sometimes  the  other.  « Sand  and  salt  and  a  mass  of  iron  is 
easier  to  bear  than  a  man  without  understanding ',  is  allowable 
on  the  supposition  that  we  mean  a  combination  of  those  several 
ingredients.  So  :  '  all  the  furniture,  the  stock  of  shops,  the 
machinery  which  could  be  found  in  the  realm,  was  of  less  value 
than  the  property  which  some  single  parishes  now  contain  '. 
(Macaulay).  'To  injure,  to  insult,  and  to  save  himself  from 
the  consequences  of  injury  and  insult  by  lying  and  equivocating, 
was  the  habit  of  his  life '  (Macaulay) :  '  was  '  predicates  regard- 
ing  a  course  of  action  indicated  by  the  enumeration  of  three 
several  steps.  Often  in  similar  cases,  there  is  introduced  a 
pronoun,  or  some  other  subject,  gathering  up  a  number  of  points 
into  one  whole,  which  is  then  predicated  of  by  a  singular  verb  : 
'  to  be  the  leader  of  the  human  race  in  the  career  of  improve- 
ment, to  found  on  the  ruins  of  ancient  intellectual  dynasties  a 
more  prosperous  and  a  more  enduring  empire,  to  be  revered  by 
the  latest  generations  as  the  most  illustrious  among  the 
benefactors  of  mankind,  all  this  was  within  Bacon's  reach* 
(Macaulay).* 

The  '  and '  is  sometimes  omitted,  but  the  rule  remains  the 
same  if  there  be  a  plurality  of  idea  in  the  subject  :  '  honour, 
justice,  religion  itself  were  involved  '. 

'  With'  for  'and'. — Instead  of  'and*,  the  preposi- 
tion '  with '  is  sometimes  used  to  connect  the  parts  of  an 
aggregate  subject. 

It  is  then  a  disputed  point  whether  the  verb  should  be 
singular  or  plural.  Thus  :  '  the  captain  with  his  men  were 

*  We  hear  sometimes  '  two  and  two  are  four' ;  'three  times  four  are 
twelve  ' ;  but  the  '  are  '  is  scarcely  defensible  in  either  case.  It  would  be 
correct  to  say  '  two  pounds  and  five  pounds  are  (or  make)  seven  pounds  ' ; 
but  with  numbers  in  the  abstract,  what  we  mean  is  that  the  numerical 
combination  of  'two  and  two"  is  the  same  as  four.  So  '  twice  one  are 
two '  must  be  wrong,  because  there  is  no  plurality  in  the  strict  sense  ; 
and  '  three  times  four '  should  be  i-egarded  aS  a  combination  or  unity 
made  up  iu  a  particular  way. 

20 


306  SYNTAX. — CONCORD. 

taken  prisoners  '.  The  sense  requires  the  plural,  but  grammati- 
cally the  subject  is  singular.  '  The  king,  with  the  lords  and 
commons,  constitute  (or  constitutes)  our  government';  'the 
p-.ir.sti,  with  its  contents,  was  found  on  the  person  of  the  thief. 
The  true  solution  of  the  difficulty  is  to  employ  '  and  '  if  the 
sense  is  plural.  The  phrase  '  with  his  men  is  an  adjunct  of 
'  captain  ',  being  as  much  as  to  say  '  accompanied  with  his  men', 
and  should  be  used  only  when  the  attention  is  concentrated  upon 
him  ;  in  which  case  the  verb  is  regularly  singular.  If  the  men 
are  also  to  be  formally  predicated  about,  we  should  say  '  the 
captain  and  his  men  were'.  So  :  '  the  king,  the  lords,  and  the 
commons  constitute  our  government '. 

'  As  well  as '  for  l  and '. — Nouns  coupled  by  '  as 
well  as  '  take  the  singular  or  the  plural  according  to  the 
context. 

If  the  predicate  is  meant  to  be  affirmed  of  both,  the  plural  is 
employed,  the  phrase  being  then  a  synonyme  for  'and': 
'  Pompey  as  well  osCnesar  were  great  men  '. 

But  if  the  '  as  well  as  '  merely  quotes  an  illustrative  comparison, 
the  predication  must  then  be  understood  as  confined  to  the  first 
noun  :  '  Africa  as  well  as  Gaul  was  gradually  fashioned  by 
imitation  of  the  capital '  ;  that  is,  by  ellipsis,  '  as  well  as  Gaul 
had  been  fashioned  by  imitation  of  the  capital ',  '  after  the  manner 
of  Gaul'.  '  His  curiosity,  as  well  as  his  anxiety,  was  highly 
excited ' :  we  are  supposed  to  know  that  his  anxiety  was  more 
or  less  excited,'  and  now,  when  his  curiosity  alone  is  spoken  of, 
his  anxiety  is  referred  to  for  illustration.  4  The  opulence  of  the 
monks,  as  well  as  the  number  of  them,  in  the  time  of  Henry 
II.,  was  enormous.' 

The  last  case  is  the  original  and  strictly  proper  application 
of  '  as  well  as '. 

*  Every'  with  connected  subjects. — The  strong  indi- 
vidualizing force  of  '  every  '  affects  the  number  of  the 
predicate  verb. 

It  has  been  doubted  whether  we  could  say  '  every  officer  and 
soldier  claim  a  superiority  in  regard  to  other  individuals'  ;  or 
even  '  every  officer  and  every  soldier  claim '.  Plurality  is 
certainly  implied,  but  there  is  a  disagreeable  effect  produced  by 
joining  'every'  with  a  plural  verb,  and  we  might  take  shelter 
under  the  elliptical  usage,  and  say  *  every  officer  (claims)  and 
every  soldier  claims',  the  singular  verb  is  powerfully  favoured 
by  the  decisively  singular  meaning  of  '  every '.  On  the  same 
gro,undx  vye  must  uphold  the  expression,  '  every  clergyman  and 


VERB  AFTER  ALTERNATED  SUBJECTS.       307 

every  physician  is  a  gentleman'.  So  we  may  defend  the 
following  :  '  it  has  been  observed  by  writers  on  physiognomy, 
that  every  emotion  and  every  operation  of  the  mind  has  a  corres- 
ponding expression  of  the  countenance ' ;  '  every  limb  and 
feature  appears  with  its  appropriate  grace  '. 

5.  Two  or  more  Singular  Nouns,  connected 
by  'or'  or  'nor',  implying  that  they  are 
separately  taken,  must  have  a  Singular  Verb: 

'  John,  James,  or  Andrew  intends  to  accompany  you  ' ; 

*  neither  this  nor  that  is  the  thing  wanted  '. 

Such  sentences  are  always  contracted  co-ordinate  sentences, 
and  their  construction  is  singular.  So  in  the  example,  '  my 
poverty,  and  not  my  will,  consents ',  there  is  a  contraction  : 
'  my  poverty  consents,  but  my  will  does  not  consent '.  The 
omission  of  the  connective  makes  no  difference  if  the  meaning  is 
the  same  :  '  a  word,  an  epithet,  paints  a  whole  scene '. 

Sometimes  '  or '  is  used  when  the  real  meaning  would  require 
'  and  '.  '  To  win  or  to  lose  (at  cards)  is  unpleasant. '  Here  there 
is  a  partial  alternation  of  meaning  from  the  circumstance  that 
we  cannot  both  win  and  lose  at  the  same  time  ;  still  the  sense  is 
that  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  unpleasant,  if  we  were 
speaking  of  one  game,  where  we  must  either  win  or  lose,  the  '  or  ' 
is  suitable ;  but  speaking  generally  it  would  be  better  to  say 
'  winning  and  losing  are  both  unpleasant '.  So  :  '  life  or  death, 
felicity  or  lasting  sorrow,  are  in  the  power  of  marriage '  (Jer. 
Taylor)  ;  'disobedience,  desertion,  mutiny,  or  theft  were  visited 
with  death  '  ;  '  death,  emigration,  or  personal  slaver}7,  were,  the 
only  alternatives'  (Freeman).  In  an  instance  above  quoted 
(hanging  and  beheading,  &c.)  we  might  have  a  third  form  : 

*  hanging    or  beheading  is    the    punishment   of  treason ',  to 
show  still  more  decisively  that  the  judge  must  sentence  a  man  to 
one,  and  not  to  both. 

'  Nor  heaven  nor  earth  have  been  at  peace  to-night '  (Shak. ). 
Dr.  Craik  remarks  on  this  passage,  that  where,  as  here,  the  two 
singular  substantives  are  looked  at  together  by  the  mind,  it  is 
more  natural  to  regard  them  as  a  plurality,  and  to  use  the  plural 
verb,  notwithstanding  the  disjunctive  conjunction.  Compare  : 

*  neither  the  king  nor  either  of  his  two  oldest  sons  are  permitted 
to  leave  the  island'  (Swift)  ;  *  neither  peace  nor  war,  nor  summer 
nor  winter,  were  a  season  of  repose'  (Gibbon)  ;  'neither  Kent 
nor  Sussex  were  among  the  greatest  of  the  kingdoms  which  our 
forefathers    founded    in    Britain'    (Freeman);     'neither    Mr. 
Adderley  nor  Mr.    Roebuck    are    by  nature    inaccessible    to 
considerations  of  this  sort '  (M.  Arnold).    Notwithstanding  such 


308  SYNTAX. — CONCORD. 

examples,  the  singular  verb  has  most  reason  on  its  side  ;  the 
occasional  use  of  the  plural  seems  to  testify  tc  a  considerable 
tendency  to  use  this  form  after  two  or  more  subjects,  even  though 
the  conjunction  connecting  these  may  indicate  that  they  are  to 
be  predicated  about  in  separation. 

When  one  of  two  subjects  separated  by  '  or '  or  '  nor '  is  in  the 
plural,  the  verb  should  be  plural :  '  he  or  his  servants  were  to 
blame '.  It  is  proper  in  such  cases  to  place  the  plural  nominative 
next  the  verb. 

6.  When   the  Subject   is  a   Relative   Pro- 
noun, the  Antecedent  determines  the  number 
of  the  verb  :  *  all  ye  that  pass  by  '. 

The  following  is  a  common  error  : — '  That  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  books  that  has  appeared  in  any  language '.  The 
antecedent  to  '  that '  is  '  books ',  not  '  one '.  So  :  '  this  is  the 
epoch  of  one  of  the  most  singular  discoveries  that  has  been  made 
among  men '  (Hume)  ;  '  I  resemble  one  of  those  animals  that 
has  been  forced  from  its  forest  to  gratify  human  curiosity' 
(Goldsmith). 

'  O  Thou  my  voice  inspire 
Who  touched  Isaiah's  hallowed  lips  with  fire.' 

But  for  the  exigencies  of  the  verse,  Pope  would  have  written 
'  touched*£ '.  The  dropping  of  the  inconvenient  inflexional 
ending  is  not  uncommon  in  poetry.  Pope  has  several  more 
examples. 

The  phrase  'as  follows',  applied  to  a  plural  antecedent,  is 
now  a  settled  usage.  If  '  as  '  were  a  true  relative  pronoun,  there 
would  be  a  breach  of  concord ;  but  we  must  consider  the 
expression  as  now  substantially  adverbial,  like  '  as  regards ',  or 
'  so  far  as  concerns '.  Perhaps  the  construction  suitable  to  the 
most  common  case,  the  third  person  singular,  has  been  extended 
to  all  cases.  Or  '  as '  may  be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  '  in  the 
manner  that '.  It  is  not  uncomnx  n  for  speakers  and  writers  to 
seek  the  appearance  of  grammatical  correctness  by  using  'as 
follow '. 

7.  When  two  or  more   Pronouns  of  dif- 
ferent persons,  are  connected  by  Alternative 
Conjunctions,  there  is  much  difficulty  in  deciding 
the  form  of  the  predicate  verb. 

Dr.  Latham  lays  down  that, 

(1)  where  the  Pronouns  are  singular  and  are  preceded  by 
'  either  '  or  '  neither ',  the  verb  is  in  the  third  person  :  '  either 
he  or  I  i*  in  the  wrong ' ;  '  neither  he  nor  I  w  in  the  wrong  '. 


CONCORD    OF   PRONOUN    AXD    OF    ADJECTIVE.       309 

And  (2)  when  the  Pronouns  are  not  preceded  by  'either*  or 
1  neither ',  the  verb  agrees  with  the  first  :  '  I  or  he  am  in  the 
wrong ' ;  ' he  or  I  is  in  the  wrong ' ;  'he  or  you  is  in  the 
wrong '. 

It  is  open  to  grave  doubt  whether  the  verb  depends  so  entirely 
upon  the  '  either '  and  the  '  neither '.  Among  other  suggestions, 
the  most  important  is  that  the  verb  should  agree  with  the 
nearest  of  the  subjects.  All  difficulty  is  obviated  when  the 
predicate  verb  is  uniuflected  :  '  can,  will,  sent,  grew,  planted, 
must',  &c. 

Further  examples;  'neither  you  nor  any  one  else  can  save 
her  ' ;  '  either  the  Prior  or  thou  has  made  some  singular  altera- 
tions '  (Scott)  ;  '  those  are  far  more  able  to  give  your  son  help 
than  either  you  or  I  are '  (Scott)  ;  '  nothing  which  Mr. 
Pattison  or  I  have  said  disprove,  &c. '  (M.  Arnold) ;  '  I  hope 
neither  my  fellow  nor  I  am  thieves '  (Massinger). 

8.  When   the   completion   of   the  Predicate    is    a 
Noun,  it  may  not  be  always  apparent  what  is  the  real 
subject,  seeing  that  the  order  is  not  decisive. 

Hence  the  expression  '  his  pavilion  were  dark  waters  and  thick 
clouds  of  the  sky ',  may  be  justified  on  the  ground  that  the 
sentence  is  inverted,  '  pavilion '  being  the  completion  of  the 
predicate,  and  not  the  subject. 

Concord   of  Adjective  and   of  Pronoun 
with  Noun. 

9.  Pronominal   Adjectives   in  English   being  alone 
inflected,  questions  of  concord  are  confined  to  them. 

The  rules  for  the  Concord  of  the  Demonstratives 
'  this '  and  '  that '  are  the  same  as  for  the  Concord  of 
the  Subject  and  the  Verb  :  *  these  means  are — this 
means  is — not  enough '. 

When  we  decide  that  a  noun  should  have  a  plural  verb,  we 
must  apply  the  same  rule  to  the  demonstrative  adjectives  (and 
pronouns)  agreeing  with  it.  The  word  '  means  '  furnishes  the 
chief  doubtful  instance  ;  and  we  may  either  adopt  the  suggestion 
of  making  it  uniformly  plural,  on  account  of  the  form,  or  look 
to  the  sense,  and  consider  it  plural  when  we  have  a  plurality  of 
agencies  involved. 

Such  expressions  as  '  this  forty  years  '.  '  this  many  summers  ', 
are  defended  on  the  ground  that  a  period  of  time  may  be  treated 
as  a  unity  Or  '  this '  may  be  really  plural,  a  surviving  instance 
of  one  of  the  old  forms  of  '  these  '. 


310  SYNTAX. — CONCORD. 

10.  The  Distributive  Adjectives,  'each', 
'every',  &c.,  are  joined  to  a  Singular  Noun,  and 
consequently  the  Verb  is  singular:  *  every  tree  is 
known  by  its  fruits  '. 

The  following  are  examples  of  a  not  uncommon  error : 
'  neither  of  the  sisters  were  very  much  deceived '  (Thackeray's 
Vanity  Fair).  '  Neither  of  my  brothers  do  anything  to  make 
this  place  amusing '  ( Virginians). 

They  also  take  a  Singular  Pronoun  when  applied 
to  one  Gender :  '  England  expects  every  man  to  do  Ids 
duty ' ;  'it  seems  natural  that  every  mother  should 
suckle  her  own  child  '. 

But  when  both  Genders  are  implied,  it  is  allowable 
to  use  the  Plural  :  '  let  each  esteem  other  better  than 
themselves '. 

Grammarians  frequently  call  this  construction  an  error  :  not 
reflecting  that  it  is  equally  an  error  to  apply  '  his  '  to  feminine 
subjects.  The  best  writers  furnish  examples  of  the  use  of  the 
plural  as  a  mode  of  getting  out  of  the  difficulty.  '  Every 
person's  happiness  depends  in  part  upon  the  respect  they  meet  in 
the  world '  (Paley).  '  Every  one  must  judge  of  their  own 
feelings '  (Byron).  '  If  the  part  deserve  any  comment,  every 
considering  Christian  will  make  it  to  themselves  as  they  go ' 
(Defoe).  'Everybody  began  to  have  their  vexation.'  'Every- 
body  around  her  was  gay,  was  busy,  prosperous,  and  important : 
each  had  their  objects  of  interest,  their  part,  their  dress,  their 
favourite  scene,  their  friends  and  confederates.'  *  Had  the 
doctor  been  co  i tented  to  take  my  dining  tables,  as  anybody  in 
their  senses  would  have  done  '  (Miss  Austen). 

Sometimes  strict  grammar  is  preserved  thus  :  *  Everybody 
called  for  his  or  her  favourite  remedy,  which  nobody  brought '. 
But  this  construction  is  felt  to  be  too  cumbrous  to  be  kept  up, 
as  we  see  in  the  following  example: — 'The  institution  of 
property,  reduced  to  its  essential  elements,  consists  in  the  re- 
cognition, in  each  person,  of  a  light  to  the  exclusive  disposal  of 
what  he  or  she  has  produced  by  their  own  exertions  ',  &c.  (J.  S. 
Mill).  '  The  heart  is  a  secret,  even  to  him  (or  her)  who  has  it  in 
his  own  breast '  (Thackeray).  A  very  ingenious  device  is  seen  in 
the  following  example  :  '  either  a  horse  or  a  mare  has  lost  its 
shoe '. 

No  doubt  there  are  more  instances  of  the  employment  of  *  his ', 
but  it  must  by  no  means  be  maintained  that  this  form  is 
exclusively  right. 


HARMONY   OF    TENSE.  311 

The  following  examples  further  illustrate  the  preference  of  the 
plural  when  both  genders  are  involved  :  *  if  an  ox  gore  a,  man  or 
a  woman  so  that  they  die '.  '  Not  on  outward  charms  should 
man  or  woman  build  their  pretensions  to  please'  (Opie).  '  If  I 
value  my  friend's  wife  or  son,  on  account  of  their  connexion 
with  him*  (Angus).  'When  either  party  fix  tJieir  attachment 
upon  the  substantial  comforts  of  a  rental,  or  a  jointure,  they 
cannot  be  disappointed  in  the  acquisition  '  (Scott).  '  My  lord 
says  that  nobody  wears  their  own  hair '  (Thackeray).  '  If  the 
fool,  or  the  pig,  are  of  a  different  opinion,  it  is  because  they  only 
know  their  own  side  of  the  question  '  (J.  S.  Mill). 

Concord  of  Tenses. 

II.  There  is  also  a  certain  congruity  of  Tenses  to  be 
observed. 

Contemporaneous  actions  should  be  expressed 
in  the  same  tense. 

In  the  narration  of  past  events,  the  writer  for  the  most  part 
uses  the  past  tense ;  but,  in  order  to  recount  vividly  a  rapid 
series  of  exciting  incidents,  he  may  for  the  occasion  pass  to  the 
present  tense, — called,  in  this  application,  the  historic  present. 
He  is  not  permitted,  however,  to  flit  between  the  two.  The 
following  is  a  harsh  incongruity  :  '  Fierce  as  he  moved,  his  silver 
shafts  resound '. 

The  Subordinate  Tenses  and  the  Principal 
Tense  must  not  conflict. 

'  He  affirmed  that  he  will  (for  '  would ')  go  to-morrow '  ;  '  hQ 
hid  himself  lest  he  shall  (for  '  should ')  be  impressed '.  '  It  were 
well  for  the  insurgents,  and  fortunate  for  the  king,  if  the  blood 
that  was  now  shed  had  been  thought  a  sufficient  expiation  for 
the  offence ' ;  '  it  had  been  well '  is  the  tense  suiting  '  had  been 
thought '.  '  If  you  please  to  employ  your  thoughts  on  that 
subject,  you  would  conceive  the  miserable  condition  many  of  us 
are  in '  ;  this  should  be  either  '  if  you  please,  you  will ',  or,  '  if 
you  pleased  (it  pleased  you),  you  would  '. 

The  use  of  the  present  indefinitive  tense  to  express  a  proposi- 
tion true  for  all  time,  is  an  apparent  exception.  We  say 
'  Galileo  maintained  that  the  earth  moves '  (not  '  moved ') ;  the 
fact  of  the  motion  of  the  earth  being  true  at  all  times  and  not 
being  restricted  to  the  time  implied  in  'maintained'.  'He  denied 
that  gold  was  (for  'is')  the  most  precious  metal.' 
'  All  night  long  the  northern  streamer* 

Shot  across  the  trembling  sky  : 

Fearful  lights,  that  never  beacon, 

Save  when  kings  or  heroes  die.' 


312 

f\f\\  IT- 


GOVERNMENT. 


1.  Government  means  the  power  that  a  word 
has  to   regulate  the  Case   of  a   Noun   or  a 
Pronoun  ;  as  when  a  Pronoun  coming  after  a  Pre- 
position takes   the  objective   form  :    *  after   me '  (not 
'  after  / '),  '  to  Mm  '  (not  *  to  he  '). 

There  being  only  one  case  inflexion  in  English  nouns,  and 
that  occurring  only  in  a  limited  number,  the  rules  of  govern- 
ment apply  principally  to  pronouns. 

2.  The  Possessive  of  Nouns  (and  of  Pro- 
nouns)    signifies     personal     possession    or 
agency. 

Preceding  a  Nouny  a  possessive  noun  (or  pronoun, 
or  pronominal  adjective)  expresses  that  the  object  be- 
longs to  or  is  somehow  connected  with  the  person 
whose  name  or  designation  is  given  in  the  possessive 
word. 

*  John's  house  *  is  '  the  house  possessed  by  John ;  owned, 
occupied,  built,  &c.,  by  John  '.  '  Johns  gospel '  is  '  the  gospel 
proclaimed  or  written  by  John,  or  named  after  him  '.  '  Poor's 
rates '  are  '  rates  levied  for  the  support  of  the  poor '.  The 
meaning  of  possession  or  belonging  is  often  stretched  to  include 
very  remote  connexions. 

Preceding  an  Infinitive  Phrase,  a  possessive  word 
indicates  the  subject  of  the  action  of  the  verb. 

'  I  am  surprised  at  John's  (or  his,  your,  &c.)  refusing  to  go/ 
Very  frequently  the  participle  is  found  in  place  of  the  infini- 
tive, in  which  case  the  objective  is  used  in  place  of  the  possessive : 
*  I  am  surprised  at  John  (or  him,,  you,  &e. )  refusing  to  go '. 
The  latter  construction  is  not  so  common  with  pronouns  as  with 
nouns,  especially  with  such  nouns  as  do  not  readily  take  the 
possessive  form.  '  They  prevented  him  going  forward  ' :  better 
'  they  prevented  his  going  forward ',  or  '  they  prevented  him 
from  going  forward  '.  '  He  was  dismissed  without  any  reason 
being  assigned '  :  this  shows  the  influence  of  Latin  construction. 
'  The  boy  died  through  his  clothes  being  burned  '.  '  We  hear 
little  of  any  connexion  being  kept '  up  between  the  two 
nations'.  "The  men  rowed  vigorously  for  fear  of  the  tide 
turning  against  us  before  we  reached  our  destination': 


POSSESSIVE    AND    OBJECTIVE  CASES.  313 

'for  fear  of  the  tide's  turning*  would  be  felt  awkward  and 
unusual ;  say  '  for  fear  the  tide  should  turn  ',  '  lest  tlu  tide  should 
turn  ',  &c.  '  Tacitus  asserting  the  fact  and  remaining  a  heathen 
is  not  so  strong  an  argument  as  Tacitus  asserting  the  fact  and 
becoming  a  Christian  in  consequence  of  it '  (Dr.  Chalmers)  : 
substitute  noun  clauses  thus — '  That  Tacitus  should  assert  the 
fact  and  remain  a  heathen,  is  not  so  strong  an  argument  as  that 
Tacitus  should  assert  the  fact  and  become  a  Christian  in  con- 
sequence of  it';  or  say — 'If  Tacitus  asserted  the  fact  and 
remained  a  heathen,  this  is  not  so  strong  an  argument  as  if 
Tacitus  had  asserted  the  fact  and  become  a  Christian.  &c.  '.  The 
possessive  seems  to  be  entirely  excluded  when  there  is  inversion : 
'  Suppose  the  very  common  case  of  there  being  no  ivill '  (J.  S. 
Mill)  :  apart  from  the  question  of  construction  this  is  perhaps 
more  elegant  than  any  regular  substitute  that  could  be  proposed  : 
*  the  very  common  case  where  there  is  no  will '  ;  '  suppose  a  very 
common  case  ;  suppose  there  is  no  will  '  ;  '  the  very  common 
case  of  the  absence  of  a  will ' ;  &c.  But  most  examples  of  the 
construction  without  the  possessive  form  are  obviously  due  to 
mere  slovenliness.  With  a  very  little  trouble,  there  could  nearly 
always  be  found  some  satisfactory  variety  of  correct  expression. 

3.  Transitive  Verbs  (with  their  Participles  and 
Gerunds)  and  Prepositions  govern  the  Objec- 
tive Case. 

This  rule  is  not  often  violated  when  the  objective  immediately 
follows  the  verb  or  preposition.  It  is  when  the  object  is  at  a 
distance  from  the  governing  word  that  a  nominative  is  liable  to 
be  used.  '  He  that  promises  too  much,  do  not  trust ',  for  '  him 
that ',  &c.  ;  many  cases  of  this  nature  seem  to  result  from  an 
unexpected  change  in  the  construction  before  the  verb  is 
reached.  There  is  a  mixture  of  two  forms  :  '  he  that  promises 
too  much  is  not  to  be  trusted ',  and  '  do  not  trust  him  that 
promises  too  much  '.  '  My  father  allowed  my  brother  and  /  to 
accompany  him ' ;  ' between  you  and  I '  ;  'let  you  and  / 
advance '. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  interrogative  '  who  '  has  '  whom  ' 
for  its  objective,  the  following  are  errors  : — '  who  do  you  take 
me  to  be  ? '  '  who  should  I  meet  the  other  day  ? '  '  who  is  it  by  ?' 
*  who  did  you  give  it  to  ? '  '  who  to  ? '  *  who  for  ? '  But 
considering  that  these  expressions  occur  with  tlie  best  writers 
and  speakers,  that  they  arc  more  energetic  than  the  other  form, 
and  that  they  lead  to  no  ambiguity,  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
grammarians  have  not  exceeded  their  province  in  condemning 
them.  The  following  are  a  few  examples  to  show  the  usage  of 
some  of  our  greatest  writers  ; — '  Who  servest  thou  under  1  * 


314  SYNTAX. — GOVERNMENT. 

(Shak.)  '  Who  should  I  meet  the  other  day  but  my  old  friend  ?' 
(Steele).  *  My  son  is  going  to  be  married  to  I  don't  know  who', 
(Goldsmith).  '  Who  have  we  here  ? '  (Goldsmith,  &c.). 

Even  the  relative  '  whom  '  is  sometimes  shortened  to  '  who  '. 
'  The  shepherd  .  .  .  who  you  saw  sitting  by  me  on  the 
turf '  (Shak. ).  *  The  remaining  place  was  engaged  by  a  gentle- 
man ivho  they  were  to  take  up  on  the  road '  (Thackeray). 
Macaulay  (Essay  on  Croker's  Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson) 
denounces  the  following  as  a  solecism  :  '  Markland,  who,  with 
Jortin  and  Thirlby,  Johnson  calls  three  contemporaries  of  great 
eminence '. 

4.  The  Verb  '  be  '  has  the  same  case  after 
it  as  before  it :  '  it  is  I';  '  ye  are  they  '. 

This  follows  from  the  principle  adopted  from  the  classical 
languages  that  when  the  complement  of  the  predicate  is  a  noun, 
it  is  of  the  same  case  as  the  subject. 

Most  grammarians  have  laid  down  this  rule.  Macaulay  (as 
just  cited,  §  3)  censures  the  following  as  a  solecism :  '  It  was 
him  that  Horace  Walpole  called  a  man  who  never  made  a  bad 
figure  but  as  an  author '.  Thackeray  (Philip,  I.  16)  similarly 
adverts  to  the  same  deviation  from  the  rule  :  '  "  Is  that  him  ?  " 
said  the  lady  in  questionable  grammar  '.  But  notwithstanding 
this,  we  certainly  hear  in  the  actual  speech  of  all  classes  of 
society  such  expressions  as  '  it  was  me  ',  '  it  was  him  ' ,  '  it  was 
her ',  more  frequently  than  the  prescribed  form.  '  This  shy 
weature,  my  brother  says  is  we'  ;  'were  it  me,  I'd  show  him 
the  difference '  (Clarissa  Harlowe).  *  It  is  not  me*  you  are  in 
love  with '  (Addison).  '  If  there  is  one  character  more  base 
than  another,  it  is  him  who  '  &c.  (Sydney  Smith}.  '  If  I  were 
him  '  ;  '  if  it  had  been  her '  ;  &c.  The  authority  of  good  writers 
is  strong  on  the  side  of  the  objective  forms.  There  is  also  the 
analogy  of  the  French  language  ;  for  while  '  /  am  here '  is  *j& 
suis  ici ',  the  answer  to  '  who  is  there  ? '  is  *  moi '  (me)  ;  and 
'  c'est  moi '  (it  is  me),  is  the  legitimate  phrase,  never  '  c'estje' 
(it  i»  /.)t 

*  It  may  be  confidently  affirmed  that  with  good  speakers,  in  the  case 
j>f  negation,  '  not  me '  is  the  usual  practice. 

f  '  It  is  remarked  by  Dean  Alford  that  '  it  is  /'  is  suitable  to  an  occasion 
of  dignity  ;  as  '  He  said  unto  them,  '  It  is  /;  be  not  afraid '.  '  '  Who  does 
not,  feel  that  here  there  is  a  majesty  and  prominence  given  by  the 
nominative  person  ;  which  makes  the  assurance  what  it  was  to  the 
disciples  ?  JJut  from  this  very  prominence  it  is  that  we  shrink  in  ordinary 
talk.  We  shelter  ourselves  in  the  accusative  case  "  me,"  which,  though 
ungraminaticHl,  yet  is  acquiesced  in,  as  better  suiting1  the  feeling  of  the 
mind.  We  all  remember  the  story  of  George  III.  reading  Paley's  fable 
about  a  pigeon,  and  exclaiming  "  Wky,  that't  ine  !"  The  king  was  just 


ORDER.  315 

5.  In  certain  other  cases  the  Objective 
often  occurs  where  the  Nominative  is  ex- 
pected. 

Similar  to  the  foregoing  is  the  case  with  regard  to  the  use  of 
me,  him,  &c.,  after  the  conjunctions  'than',  'as',  &c.,  iu 
whose  favour  there  is  the  authority  of  an  extensive  if  not  pre- 
dominating usage.  '  He  is  taller  than  me.  '  'No  mightier 
than  thyself  or  me',  (Shaks.).*  'She  was  neither  better  bred 
nor  wiser  than  you  or  me'  (Thackeray). 

'  Satan,  than  whom 
None  higher  sat.' 

Perhaps  '  whom '  is  the  uniform  usage  ;  '  than  who '  seldom  or 
never  occurring.  Of  course,  in  all  these  cases,  when  the  ellipsis 
is  filled  in,  the  nominative  necessarily  replaces  the  objective 
form  :  '  no  mightier  than  thyself  or  I  am  mighty  '. 

The  construction  '  nobody  said  so  but  him  ',  is  defended  by 
some  grammarians  on  the  ground  that  '  but '  is  a  preposition  as 
well  as  a  conjunction.  Still  '  but  he '  is  of  frequent  occurrence  : 
1  no  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven  but  he  that  came  down 
from  heaven  '  ;  '  there  is  none  justified  but  he  that  is  in  measure 
sanctified '.  '  Every  one  can  master  a  grief  but  he  that  hath  it ' 
(Shak.)  ;  '  within  that  circle  none  durst  walk  but  he '  (Drydeii). 

Compare  : 

'  I  do  entreat  you,  not  a  man  depart, 
Save  I  alone,  till  Antony  hath  spoke '  (Shak.,  /t*Z.  Cat.). 


ORDER  OF  WORDS. 

I.  The  most  general  principles  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  words  are,  that  what  is  to  be  thought  of 
first  should  be  metioned  first,  and  that  things 
to  be  thought  of  together  should  be  placed 
in  close  connexion. 

as  right  in  the  expression  of  the  interpretation,  as  he  was  in  the  inter- 
pretation itself.  He  could  not  have  said,  "  Why,  that's  I".'— Good  Words, 
March,  1863. 

*  On  this  Dr.  Craik  remarks  ;  '  Of  course,  in  strict  grammar,  it  should 
be  than  I.  But  the  personal  pronouns  must  be  held  to  be,  in  some 
measure,  emancipated  from  the  dominion  or  tyranny  of  syntax.  Who 
would  rectify  even  Shelley's  bold 

"  lest  there  be 

No  solace  left  for  thou  and  me  "  ? 

The  grammatical  law  has  so  slight  a  hold  that  a  mere  point  of  euphony 
is  deemed  sufficient  to  justify  the  neglect  of  it'.-  English  of  Shakespeare. 
The  effect  of  euphony  appears  to  be  well  illustrated  also  in  Shak.,  Macb., 
III.  iv.  :  '  'Tis  better  thee  without  than  lie  within  '. 


316  SYNTAX.  —  ORDER. 

In  inflected  languages,  the  connexion  of  one  word  with 
another  is  indicated  by  means  of  inflexions.  The  English,  on 
this  point,  trusts  chiefly  to  position  ;  and  hence  the  order  of 
words  in  a  sentence  is  more  fixed  in  English  than  in  the 
classical  languages. 

Subject  and  Verb. 

2.  The  Subject  precedes  the  Verb:  'the 
earth  moves  ',  '  the  stars  twinkle  '. 

Exceptions. 

1.  When  a  question    is    asked,    without    an    interrogative 
pronoun  in  the  nominative  case  :  '  arc  ye  alone  ? '  '  when  did  he 
come  ? '  '  may  we  go  in  V '  '  what  will  he  do  ? '     But  '  who  said, 
so  ? '   '  what  is  to  be  done  ? ' 

2.  With  the  imperative  mood  :    '  come  ye '  ;    '  laud  ye  the 
gods ' ;   '  look  thou  to  that '. 

3.  In    the     conditional    mood,    when    the    conjunction    is 
suppressed  :  '  had  1  known  that'  ;  '  were  /in  his  place  '. 

4.  When  a  wish  or  exclamation  is  expressed  :  '  may  she  be 
happy  '  ;  '  how  would  we  wish  that  Heaven  had  left  us  still — ' ; 
'  ah  !  mayest  thou  ever  be  what  now  thou  art  ! ' 

5.  When  'neither'  or  'nor',  signifying  'and  not',  precedes 
the  verb  :  'this  was  his  fear,  nor  was  the  apprehension  ground- 
less'.    'Dr.    Lancaster  was  desirous   to   serve   a  boy   of  such 
promise  ;  nor  was  an  opportunity  long  wanting. '     '  He  will  not 
go ;  neither  will  I.' 

6.  In  introducing  the  parts  of  a  dialogue  : '  said  he '  ;  '  thought 
I '  ;  '  replied  James  '. 

7.  For  the  sake  of  emphasis ;  as  when  a  sentence  is  intro- 
duced by  '  there  ',  '  here  ',  or  other  adverbial  expressions  :   '  up 
started  he'  ;    ' now   abideth    faith,    hope,    charity '.      '  On   the 
distant   mainland  is  seen  the  town   or  village   of  Stromness' 
(Scott).     c  Above,  below  and  behind  the  city,  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach,  extends  the  unbroken  forest '  (A.  B.  Wallace).      'Over 
the  crushing  vines,  over  the  desolate  streets,   over  the  amphi- 
theatre itself,  far  and  wide,  with  many  a  mighty  splash  in  the 
agitated  sea,  fell  that  awful  shoicer '  (Ly  tton). 

The  Complement  of  the  predicate  follows  the  predicate 
verb. 

'  The  day  is  clear ',  '  kings  are  but  men ',  '  thig  question  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  '. 

When  the  complement  is  a  noun,  we  distinguish  it  from  the 
subject  by  its  position  :  '  angels  are  spirits  '. 


SUBJECT — VERB — OBJECT.  317 

Inversion  for  emphasis. — The  usual  order  is  not  unfrequently 
inverted,  especially  in  poetry,  for  the  sake  of  effective  statement : 
'  Fair  laughs  the  morn  '  ;  '  all  bloodless  lay  th'  untrodden  snow  '  ; 
'great  is  Diana';  'bitter  but  unavailing  were  my  regrets'. 
1  Childe  Harold  was  he  hight.' 

Verb  and  Object. 

3.  The  Transitive  Verb  precedes  its  Object: 

*  we  gained  a  victory  ';  '  you  did  not  see  me  '. 
Exceptions. 

1.  When  the  objective  is  a  relative  or  interrogative  pronoun, 
or  a  noun  limited  by  a  relative  or  interrogative  adjective  :  'this 
is  the  letter  that  he  wrote, ' ;  '  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his 
death  were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life'  ;  'ichat 
does  the  man  want  ? '  '  which  house  do  you  prefer  ? ' 

2.  For  emphasis:  'treason  and  murder  he  had  been  taught 
early  in  life  to  expect  from  everybody '  ;  '  talent  I  will  marry,  for 
talent  I  adore  '  ;  '  what  I  did  I  did  in  honour  '. 

3.  For  the  sake  of  closer  connexion  with  a  previous  sentence. 
This    inversion    always   put   emphasis   on   the   object.       '  His 
passions  and  prejudices  had  led  him  into  a  great  error.      That 
error  he  determined  to  recant.'     '  He  insisted  upon  my  asking 
pardon  for  affronting  his  king  and  him.     This  proposal  I  would 
by  no  means  comply  with.' 

This  inversion  cannot  often  be  practised  in  English,  on  account 
of  causing  ambiguity.  Apart  from  the  context,  our  only  means 
of  knowing  which  is  subject  and  which  is  object  is  the  order  ; 
hence  the  following  expressions  are  of  themselves  uncertain  : 
'  when  thus  the  son  the  fervent  sire  addressed ' ;  '  when  Thebes 
Epaminondas  rears  again  '  ;  '  and  all  the  air  a  solemn  stillness 
holds  '.  Inversion  is  admissible  when  either  the  subject  or  the 
object  is  an  inflected  pronoun  :  'two  men  I  know ',  'me  their 
swords  encompassed '.  Also  when  subject  and  object  differ  in 
number,  and  the  Verb  shows  its  agreement  with  the  subject : 
the  sentence  '  death  lays  all  men  low '  may  have  its  parts 
arranged  in  any  order  without  loss  of  clearness.  '  Wars  into 
peace  he  turns '  combines  both  conditions. 


is  a  Scotticism. 

Noun  and  Adjective. 

4.  The  Adjective  immediately  precedes  the 
Noun  :  '  bright  prospects  '. 


318  SYNTAX. — ORDER. 

Exceptions. 

1.  When  the  adjective  is  accompanied  by  another  adjective  : 
as  '  a  man  just  and  wise ' ;  *  across  the  meadows  bare  and  brown '  ; 
'  gods  partial,  changeful,  passionate,  unjust '. 

2.  When  the  adjective  is  enlarged  by  qualifying  phrases  :  as 
'  a  question  too  important  to  be  neglected ' ;  '  a  patriot  disinterested 
in  a  high  degree ' ;  '  in  other  words,  the  country   was  to  be 
absolutely  governed  by  a  hereditary  aristocracy,  the  most  needy, 
the  most  haughty,  the  most  quarrelsome  in  Europe '.     Hence  the 
adjectives  *  adverse ',  '  afraid  ',  '  conformable  ',  which  require  an 
enlargement  to  make  complete  sense,  always  follow  the  noun 
they  qualify. 

In  poetry  the  adjective  is  often  placed  last :  as  '  the  garden 
fair  ',  '  my  own  mother  dear  ',  '  the  primrose  pale '. 

A  few  expressions,  including  certain  titles  of  French  origin, 
.  almostly  uniformly  show   the  inverted   arrangement :  '  Prince 
Regent ',     '  Heir    Apparent ',     '  Poet    Laureate ',     '  Governor- 
General',  'States  General ',  '  court  martial',  '  time  immemorial', 
'  knight  errant '. 

The  most  general  direction  is  to  keep  the  noun  and 
its  qualifying  adjuncts  as  close  together  as  possible. 

Accordingly  such  sentences  as  the  following  are  ill  arranged  : 
1  the  death  is  announced  of  Mr.  Henry  Archer,  inventor  ',  &c. ; 
1  the  country  beyond  which  the  arts  cannot  be  traced  of  civil 
society  or  domestic  life  '  ;  '  the  ignorance  of  the  age  in  mechanical 
arts  rendered  the  progress  very  slow  o/  this  new  invention  ' ;  '  the 
legitimacy  is  conceded  of  repressing  violence  or  treachery '  ;  '  / 
cannot  blame  thee,  who  am  myself  attacked  with  weariness ' 
(Shak.)  ;  '  this  way  will  direct  you  to  a  gentleman's  house  that 
hath  skill  to  take  off  these  burdens '  (Bunyan). 

"When  the  enlargements  are  of  great  length  we  are  to 
avoid  entangling  them  with  other  parts  of  the  sentence. 

In  the  following  passage  some  of  the  adjuncts  precede,  and  the 
others  follow,  the  noun  : — '  Born  to  inherit  the  -most  illustrious 
monarchy  in  the  world,  and  early  united  to  the  object  of  her 
choice,  the  amiable  PRINCESS,  happy  in  Jierself,  and  joyful  in  her 
future  prospects,  little  anticipated  the  fate  that  was  so  soon  to 
overtake  her '. 

Sometimes  the  enlargement  is  resumed  after  the  verb. 

'  The  spirit  of  Francis  Bacon  was  abroad  ;  a  spirit  admirably 
compounded- of  audacity  and  sobriety.'  'Ye  shall  die,  all  of 
you. '  '  The  emperor,  nominally  invested  with  the  loftiest  of 


THE   NOUN   AND   ITS  ADJUNCTS.  319 

titles,  was,  in  fact,  no  more  than  the  head  of  a  confederacy  of 
secular  and  ecclesiastical  princes  ;  the  head  of  a  body  whose 
members  were  seldom  in  harmony.'  '  The  only  course  left  was 
to  imitate  the  fatal  policy  by  which  the  empire  had  invited  its 
own  doom  while  striving  to  avert  it ;  the  policy  of  matching 
barbarian  against  barbarian. ' 

We  are  always  disposed  to  take  the  word  preceding 
a  substantive  as  a  word  modifying  it ;  and  hence  our 
facility  in  using  nouns  and  phrases  adjectively. 

*  A  gold  ring'  ;  'a  carriage  gentleman'  ;  'the  home-to -house 
visitation '.  Strictly  regarded,  these  are  highly  condensed  or 
elliptical  expressions,  interpreted  by  their  juxtaposition  :  '  a 
ring  made  of  gold '  ;  '  a  gentleman  that  rides  in  a  carriage '  ; 
4  visitation  from  house  to  house  '. 

The  three  first,  or  the  first  three  ?  Great  doubt  exists  as  to  which  of  these 
expressions  is  correct.  Difficulties  seem  to  attach  to  both.  When  we 
say  the  three  firtt,  it  is  asked,  how  can  three  be  first  ?  and  when  we  say 
the  first  three,  we  seem  to  imply  that  this  should  be  followed  by  a  second 
three,  a  third  three,  and  so  on.  The  form  most  commonly  used  is  the 
•  first  three ' ;  '  the  first  six  books  of  Euclid '  ;  '  the  first  ten  men  you  meet ', 
'  the  first  forty  years  of  the  century ',  But  there  are  occasions  when  good 
•writers  think  the  other  form  preferable  ;  thus,  '  the  three  first  gospels '  ; 
'  the  two  eldest  of  the  family '  ;  '  the  six  nearest  your  hand ' ;  '  the  fathers 
of  the  five  first  centuries  '.  '  I  have  not  numbered  the  lines  except  of  the 
four  first  books '  (Cowper).  We  may  conceive  the  ground  for  the  distinc- 
tion on  some  such  principle  as  this.  Suppose  a  number  of  persons 
waiting  for  admission  to  a  public  spectacle.  The  manager  wishes  to  give 
directions  as  to  the  order  of  admission.  Now  if  we  suppose  it  settled 
beforehand  that  three  shall  be  admitted  at  a  time,  the  only  question 
remaining  is  which  three,  to  which  the  answer  is  the  three  first.  But  if 
it  be  understood  that  they  are  to  be  admitted  in  the  order  that  they  stand 
in,  the  question  is  how  many  at  a  time,  and  the  answer  is  the  first  three. 
The  place  of  special  emphasis  is  the  second  word,  the  first  three,  the  three 
first.  This  is  indicated  in  the  phrase,  '  the  first  six  books  of  Euclid  '  ;  for 
it  is  taken  for  granted  that  in  geometry  the  order  of  proceeding  is  fixed, 
and  the  only  inquiry  that  remains  is,  hoio  many  books  are  prescribed  :  the 
first  two,  the  first  four,  the  first  six.  In  speaking  of  the  '  three  first 
gospels ',  it  is  supposed  that  a  division  is  made  of  the  gospels  into  two 
groui>s  (there  might  be  more  if  the  number  were  greater)  ;  and  that  the 
first  group  contains  three,  and  the  second  group  one.  The  question  then 
is  supposed  to  be  put  -  where  are  the  three  situated,  and  where  the  one  ? 
and  the  reply  is,  the  three  first,  the  one  last  ;  or  it  might  have  been  the 
two  first,  thetwo/as£.  If,  as  in  Euclid,  it  had  been  necessary  to  study 
the  gospels  in  a  fixed  consecutive  order,  the  question  would  then  have 
arisen,  how  many  go  to  make  the  first  division  ?  and  we  might  have  said 
the  first  two,  the  first  three,  as  many  actually  do  say. 

6.  The  placing  of  the  Article. 

The  rule  of  most  practical  importance  as  to  the  articles  is  to 
this  effect :  When  two  or  more  substantives  following  each  other 
denote  the  same  object,  the  article  is  placed  only  with  the  first : 


320  SYNTAX. — ORDER, 

as  *  a  (or  the)  secretary  and  treasurer ',  the  two  offices  being  held 
by  the  same  person.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  substantives 
denote  different  objects,  the  article  is  repeated  before  each  :  as 
'  the  secretary  and  the  treasurer '.  Violations  of  this  rule  are 
frequent.  '  The  old  and  new  method '  is  wrong  ;  but  we  may 
say  correctly  '  the  old  and  new  methods ',  '  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  . 

The  following  are  examples  of  the  rule  : — '  He  shall  come 
again  with  glory  to  judge  both  the  quick  and  the  dead ' ;  '  by 
their  tumultuous  election,  a  Syrian,  a  Goth,  or  an  Arab  was 
exalted  to  the  throne  of  Rome,  and  was  invested  with  despotic 
power  over  the  conquests,  and  over  the  country  of  the  Scipios  '  ^ 
'  he  had  compassion  on  the  poor  and  needy  '  ;  '  a  cool  head,  an 
unfeeling  heart,  and  a  cowardly  disposition,  prompted  him,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  to  assume  the  mask  of  hypocrisy,  which  he 
never  after  laid  aside  '. 

The  incorrect  construction  is  seen  in  these  examples: — 'When 
therefore  the  chief  priests  and  (the)  officers  saw  him  ';  'some  of 
the  most  sacred  festivals  in  the  Roman  ritual  were  destined  to 
indulge  the  pious  remembrance  of  the  dead  and  (the)  living '. 

'  He  made  a  better  soldier  than  a  poet ',  means  a  better  soldier 
than  a  poet  would  make. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  repetition  of  other  words,  as 
prepositions,  conjunctions,  &c. :  '  eternity  invests  every  state, 
whether  of  bliss,  or  of  suffering,  with  an  importance  entirely  its 
own  '  ;  '  I  speak  as  a  father  and  as  a  friend  '. 

Pronoun  and  Antecedent. 

6.  Every  Pronoun  should  have  a  distinct 
Antecedent. 

When  there  are  two  words  in  a  Clause,  each  capable 
of  being  an  antecedent,  the  determining  circumstances 
are  Proximity  and  Importance. 

1.  As  regards  proximity  :  '  Solomon,  the  son  of  David,  who 
slew    Goliath '.     Here  the  relative    '  who '  refers   to   the  word 
immediately  preceding, — '  David  '.    '  John  gave  James  the  book  : 
he  was  very  much  in  want  of  it ',  i.e. ,  James,  the  last  mentioned. 

2.  As  regards  importance  :  'Solomon,  the  son  of  David,   who 
built   the    temple ',    might   be  justified    on   the   ground    that 
'  Solomon  '  is  the  principal  subject,  and  '  the  son  of  David  '  is 
merely  an  apposition  or  explanatory  clause,  which  should  not 
interfere  with  the  reference  of  the  relative  to  Solomon.     In  fact 
'  Solomon-the-sou-of-David    is,  as  it  were,  a  many-worded  name. 


PRONOUN    AND    ANTECEDENT.  321 

'He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin',  is  to  be 
interpreted  on  the  rule  of  prominence  ;  otherwise . '  who'  might 
apply  to  '  he '  or  to  '  us  '. 

The  rule  of  proximity  should  be  observed  as  the 
preferable  plan. 

'  '  The  time  drew  near  at  which  the  Houses  must  re-assemble.' 
Re-aiTange  thus  :  '  Now  drew  near  the  time  at  which  (or  when) 
the  Houses  must  re-assemble  '.  One  of  the  examples  given  in 
§  4  would  be  better  arranged  thus  :  '  this  way  will  direct  you  to. 
the  house  of  a  gentleman  that  hatli  skill  to  take  off  these  burdens  '. 
It  is  always  desirable  that  the  relative  should  stand  as  close  to 
the  antecedent  as  possible. 

The  following  are  examples  of  a  Confusion  of 
Pronouns  : — 

'  They  were  summoned  occasionally  by  their  kings,  when 
compelled  by  tJieir  wants  and  by  their  fears  to  have  recourse  to 
their  aid.'  Reduce  the  reference  to  the  subject  alone  thus  :  '  by 
want  and  by  fear  '. 

'  Men  look  with  an  evil  eye  upon  the  good  that  is  in  others  ; 
and  think  that  their  reputation  obscures  them,  and  that  tJieir 
commendable  qualities  do  stand  in  their  light ;  and,  therefore,  they 
do  what  they  can  to  cast  a  cloud  over  them,  that  the  bright 
shining  of  their  virtues  may  not  obscure  tJiem'  (Tillotson). 
Here  there  are  two  subjects,  and  we  cannot  tell  from  the  con- 
struction which  of  the  two  the  pronouns  severally  refer  to. 

Again  :  '  All  which,  with  the  king's  and  queen's  so  ample 
promises  to  him  (the  treasurer)  so  few  hours  before  the  conferring 
the  place  on  another,  and  the  Duke  of  York's  manner  of  receiving 
hi>n  (the  treasurer)  after  he  (the  chancellor)  had  been  shut  up 
with  him  (the  duke),  as  lie  (the  treasurer)  was  informed,  might 
very  well  excuse  him  (the  treasurer)  from  thinking  he  (the 
chancellor)  had  some  share  in  the  affront  he  (the  treasurer)  had 
undergone '  (Clarendon). 

Thackeray  is  responsible  for  this  :  '  She  had  met  the  most 
.distinguished  governors,  generals,  and  their  ladies,  several  of; 
whom  wt- re  noblemen '. 

The  neuter  pronoun  '  it '  gives  rise  to  the  greatest  ambiguity, 
»s  has  previously  been  shown.  (See  p.  29.) 

Placing  of  the  Adverb. 

7.  The  Adverb  is  placed  before  an  Adjective, 
or  another  Adverb. 

21 


322  SYNTAX. — ORDER. 

'  A  very  good  man  '  ;  '  extremely  hard  work  *.  *  He  behaves 
very  well '  ;  *  he  works  extremely  hard '. 

The  Adverb  is  placed  after  an  Intransitive  Verb. 

'  She  dances  well ' ;  '  they  work  hard  ', 

When  the  verb  is  transitive,  the  Adverb  usually 
follows  the  Object. 

'  He  treated  them  handsomely ' ;  'I  met  him  very  unex- 
Ipectedly  ' ;  '  bring  the  letter  instantly '. 

When  the  object  is  either  emphatic  or  long  (by  means 
of  adjuncts),  then  a  short  adverbial  expression  is  best 
placed  between  the  Transitive  Verb  and  the 
Object 

'  He  imparts  without  reserve  secrets  of  the  highest  moment.' 
1  He  explains  with  perfect  simplicity  vast  designs  affecting  all 
the  governments  of  Europe.'  'The  Captain  whispered  some- 
thing- in  Sir  Roger's  ear,  that  lasted  till  the  opening  of  the  fifth 
act '  :  here  the  object  '  something '  precedes  the  adverbial 
phrase,  but  is  separated  by  it  from  the  limiting  adjective  clause 
that  ends  the  sentence.  The  arrangement  suggested  renders 
the  sentence  compact  :  '  the  Captain  whispered  in  Sir  Roger  s 
car  something  that  lasted  till  the  opening  of  the  fifth  act '.  In 
cases  like  the  following  the  adverbial  expression  is  liable  to  be 
attached  wrongly  to  the  subordinate  predicate  :  '  He  might  be 
seized  by  any  one  that  met  him  as  a  robber'  (Hallam).  Ke- 
arrange  :  '  he  might  be  seized  as  a  robber  by  any  one  that  met 
him '. 

The  Adverb  is  placed  between  Auxiliary  and 
Participle. 

1 1  have  gently  hinted  my  intentions  '  ;  '  I  shall  never  forget 
your  kindness  ';  'he  has  carefully  studied  the  case  '. 

The  most  general  rule  is  to  place  Adverbs,  and 
Adverbial  Adjuncts,  or  qualifying  circumstances,  so  as 
to  affect  what  they  are  intended  to  affect. 

8.  The  word  requiring  most  attention  is  only. 

According  to  the  position  of  '  only ',  the  very  same  words  may 
be  made  to  express  very  different  meanings. 

(1.)  'He  only  lived  for  their  sakes.'  Here  'only*  must  be 
held  as  qualifying  '  lived  for  their  sakes  ',  the  emphasis  being  on 


PLACING   OF  ADVERBS.  —  'ONLY*.  323 

'lived',  the  word  immediately  adjoining.  The  meaning  then 
is  '  he  lived  ',  hut  did  not  work,  did  not  die,  did  not  do  any 
other  thing  for  their  sakes. 

(2.)  'He  lived  only  for  their  sakes/  «  Only  'now  qualifies 
'  for  their  sakes  ',  and  the  sentence  means  he  lived  for  this  one 
reason,  namely,  for  their  sakes,  and  not  for  any  other  reason. 

(3.)  'He  lived  for  their  sakes  only.'  The  force  of  the  word 
when  placed  at  the  end  is  peculiar.  Then  it  often  has  a  diminu- 
tive or  disparaging  signification.  '  He  lived  for  their  sakes  ', 
and  not  for  any  more  worthy  reason.  '  He  gave  sixpence  only  ', 
is  an  insinuation  that  more  was  expected. 

(4.)  By  the  use  of  '  alone  ',  instead  of  '  only  ',  other  meanings 
are  expressed.  '  He  alone  lived  for  their  sakes  '  :  that  is,  he, 
and  nobody  else,  did  so.  '  He  lived  for  their  sakes  alone  ',  or 
'  for  the  sake  of  them  alone  '  ;  that  is,  not  for  the  sake  of  any, 
other  persons.  '  It  was  alone  by  the  help  of  the  Confederates 
that  any  such  design  could  be  carried  out.  Better  '  only  '. 

It  has  already  been  seen  (page  106)  that  '  only  '  preceding  a 
sentence  or  clause  has  the  force  of  an  adversative  conjunction  : 
'  I  should  be  ashamed  to  offer  at  saying  any  of  those  civil  things 
in  return  to  your  obliging  compliments  in  regard  to  my  trans- 
lation of  Homer,  only  (but,  yet,  still)  I  have  too  great  a  value 
for  you  not  to  be  pleased  with  them  '  (Pope). 

Further  examples  of  the  construction  of  'only*.  —  'When  men  grow 
virtuous  in  their  old  rge,  they  only  make  a  sacrifice  to  God  of  the  Devil's 
leavings  '  (Pope).  Here  '  only  '  is  rightly  placed.  '  Think  only  of  the 
past  as  its  remembrance  gives  you  pleasure  ',  should  be  '  think  of  the 
past,  only  as  its  remembrance  ',  &c.  '  As  he  did  not  leave  his  name,  it  was 
only  known  that  a  gentleman  had  called  on  business  '  :  '  it  was  known 
only  '.  '  I  can  only  refute  the  accusation  by  laying  before  you  the  whole'  ; 
this  would  mean  '  the  only  thing  I  am  able  to  do  is  to  refute  ;  I  may  not 
retaliate,  or  let  it  drop,  I  must  refute  it  '.  '  The  negroes  are  to  appear  at 
church  only  in  boots  '  ;  that  is,  when  the  negroes  go  to  church  they  are  to, 
have  no  clothing  but  boots.  '  The  negroes  are  to  appear  only  at  church. 
in  boots',  might  mean  that  they  are  not  to  appear  anywhere  but  at 
church,  whether  in  boots  or  out  of  them.  The  proper  arrangement  would 
be  to  connect  the  adverbial  adjunct  'in  boots'  with  its  verb  'appear', 
and  to  make  '  only  '  qualify  '  at  church  '  and  no  more  ;  '  the  negroes  are 
' 


to  appear  in  boots  only  at  church  '.  '  Others  killed  partridges  —  he  only 
killed  time  '  ;  this  might  imply  that  he  did  nothing  else  but  kill  time. 
This  is  a  proper  case  for  the  diminutive  p'^ntion  of  the  word.  '  Others 


killed  time  '  ;  this  might  imply  that  he  did  nothing  else  but  kill  time. 
This  is  a  proper  case  for  the  diminutive  p'^ntion  of  the  word.  '  Others 
killed  partridges,  he  killed  time  only  ',  i.e.  (sarcastically)  nothing  of  more 
consequence  than  time. 

9.  Not  —  but  only. 

Errors  frequently  arise  in  the  use  of  'not  —  but  only',  to  under-, 
stand  which  we  must  attend  to  the  force  of  the  whole  expression. 
'He  did  not  pretend  to  extirpate  French  music,  but  only  to 
cultivate  and  civilize  it.'  Here  the  'not'  is  obviously  mis- 
placed. 4  He  pretended,  or  professed,  not  to  extirpate.' 


SYNTAX. — ORDER. 

10.  Not  only-  but  also. 

There  is  still  greater  complication  with  these.  We  may 
illustrate  the  construction  as  follows  :— Suppose  it  v  said,  (1) 
'  He  gave  them  food  and  clothing '.  This  means  simply  that 
he  gave  those  two  things.  (2)  'He  gave  them  both  food  and 
clothing '  ;  that  is,  it  would  have  been  liberal  to  give  either, 
but  he  gave  both.  (3)  '  He  gave  not  only  food,  but  also 
clothing '  :  food  he  might  have.  b(  en  expected  to  give,  but 
besides  that,  he  gave,  what  was  hardly  to  be  expected,  clothing. 
The  '  but '  has  its  usual  power  of  causing  a  surpiise  :  the  '  not 
only  '  gives  the  ordinary  course  of  things ;  the  '  but '  marks  an 
addition,  or  something  not  included  in  our  natural  expectations. 
In  the  following  sentence  '  not  only — but '  does  not  give  the; 
author's  meaning:— 'We  are  monished  here  of  charity,  and^ 
taught  that  God  is  not  only  a  private  Father,  but  a  common 
Father  to  the  v  hole  world '.  Here  the  meaning  is  that  God  is 
not  a  private  Father  ;  the  expression  supposes  that  he  is  a 
private  Father.  The  '  only  '  should  be  omitted.  In  the  passage, 
from  Addison— '  By  greatness  I  do  not  only  mean  the  bulk  of 
any  single  object,  but  the  largeness  of  a  whole  view  considered 
as  one  entire  piece  ' — the  same  error  is  committed,  and  there  is 
also  a  misplacement  of  the  '  not '.  '  By  greatness  I  mean  not 
the  bulk  of  any  single  object,  but  the  largeness  of  a  whole  view'. 
Shorter  :  '  By  greatness  I  njean  largeness,  not  in  any  single 
object,  but  in  a  whole  view  '. 

Another  point  is  raised  by  the  following  : — '  not  only  Lydia, 
but  all  were  concerned '  ;  i.  e. ,  it  was  understood  that  Lydia  was 
concerned,  but  not  that  all.  (including  Lydia)  were  concerned,  i 
It  would  be  necessary  to  say  '  not  only  Lydia,  but  all  the  rest  of 
the  family  were  concerned  '  :  or,  '  not  Lydia  alone,  but  all  were 
concerned '.  '  Not  only  England,  but  also  France  and  Austria, 
protested '  is  correct ;  '  not  only  England,  but  all  Europe  was, 
alarmed  '  would  involve  the  same  error  as  above  :  '  not  England. 
alone,  but  all  Europe ',  or  '  not  only  England,  but  also  the  rest 
of  Europe  '.* 

'  It  is  not  only  hard  to  distinguish  between  too  little  and  tooi 

*  The  translation  of  Paul's  appeal  to  Agrippa  is  not  in  strict  accordance, 
•with  the  English  idiom.  '  I  would  to  God  that  not  only  thou,  but  also 
all  that  hear  me  this  day,  were  both  almost  and  altogether  such  as  I  am, 
except  these  bonds '.  He  here  wishes  both  Agrippa  and  all  that  heard 
him  to  be  as  himself.  But  Agrippa  was  one  that  heard  him,  and  should 
be  excluded.  Then  again,  they  could  not  be  both  '  almost '  and  '  alto-, 
gether '.  The  following  rendering  -would  avoid  these  objections  ;  '  I. 
•would  to  God  that  not  thou  alone,  but  all  that  hear  me  this  day,  were  not 
almost  merely,  but  altogether  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds  '. 

'  I  say  not  unto  thee,  until  seven  times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven*. 
Here  the  '  not '  is  manifestly  out  of  its  place.  '  I  say  unto  thee,  not  until( 
seven  times  only,  but  until  seventy  times  seven '. 


PLACING   OF   ADVERBS. — SPECIAL   CASES.          325: 

much  reform,  but  between  the  good  and  evil  intentions  of 
different  reformers.'  We  here  expect  'not  only  hard,  but 
impossible '.  '  It  is  hard  to  distinguish  not  only  between  too 
little  and  too  much  reform,  but  between  the  good  and  (the) 
evil  intentions  of  different  reformers. ' 

11.  The  wrong  placing  of  'not*  often  gives  rise  to 
an  imperfect  form  of  negation. 

'John  and  James  were  not  there',  means  that  John  and 
James  were  not  there  in  company.  It  does  not  exclude  the 
presence  of  one  of  them.  The  negative  should  precede  in  this 
case  :  '  neither  John  nor  James  was  there  '.  '  Our  company  was 
not  present '  (as  a  company,  but  some  of  us  might  have  been) ; 
'  no  member  of  our  company  was  present  '. 

12.  At  least. 

'The  Romans  understood  liberty  at  least  as  well  as  we.' 
This  must  be  interpreted  to  mean  '  the  Romans  understood 
liberty  as  well  as  we  understand  liberty  '.  The  intended  mean- 
ing is  '  that  whatever  things  the  Romans  failed  to  understand 
they  understood  liberty '.  To  express  this  meaning  we  might 
put  it  thus  : — '  the  Romans  understood  at  least  liberty,  as  well 
as  we  do  '  ;  '  liberty,  at  least,  the  Romans  understood  as  well  as 
we  do  '.  'A  tear,  at  least,  is  due  to  the  unhappy '  ;  '  at  least  a 
tear  is  a  due  to  the  unhappy';  'a  tear  is  due  at  least  to  the 
unhappy  ' ;  '  a  tear  is  due  to  the  unhappy  at  least ' ;  all  express 
different  meanings. — 'This  cannot,  often  at  least,  be  done'; 
'  this  cannot  be  done  often,  at  least '.  (1.  'It  often  happens 
that  this  cannot  be  done.'  2.  '  It  does  not  often  happen  that 
this  can  be  done.')  So,  '  man  is  always  capable  of  laughing  '  ; 
'  man  is  capable  of  laughing  always '. 

13.  Misplaced  circumstances,  or  adverbial  adjuncts, 
generally. 

To  bring  every  clause  into  juxtaposition  with  the  part  thut  it 
is  meant  to  qualify  is  as  requisite  as  to  place  single  words 
properly.  Examples  have  been  given  incidentally.  The 
following  are  a  few  more  instances  of  misplaced  clauses  and 
adjuncts  :  — 

'All  these  circumstances  brought  close  to  us  a  state  of  things 
which  we  never  thought  to  have  witnessed  (to  witness)  in 
peaceful  England.  In  the  sister  island,  indeed,  we  had  read  of 
such  horrors,  but  now  they  were  brought  home  to  our  very 
household  hearths'  (Swift).  'We  had  read,  indeed,  of  such 
horrors  occurring  in  the  sister  island  ',  &c. 


326  SYNTAX.— ORDER. 

'The  savage  people  in  many  places  of  America,  except  the 
government  of  small  families,  have  no  government  at  all,  and 
live  at  this  day  in  that  savage  manner  as  I  said  before  '  (Hobbes). 
Perhaps  the  second  and  third  clauses  had  better  to  be  trans- 
posed. 

'  Some  dozen  years  afterwards,  I  had  an  editorial  successor  (in 
the  Exi.miner),  Mr.  Fonblanque,  who  had  all  the  wit  for  which 
I  toiled,  without  making  any  pretensions  to  it '  (Leigh  Hunt). 
Here  the  concluding  clause,  if  we  were  to  judge  by  its  position, 
would  qualify  /;  but  it  is  meant  to  qualify  '  who '  (Mr. 
Fonblanque).  More  explicit  thus  :  '  without  his  making  any 
pretensions  to  it '. 

'  I  shall  have  a  comedy  for  you,  in  a  season  or  two  at 
farthest,  tJiat  I  believe  will  be  worth  your  acceptance' 
(Goldsmith).  Place  the  second  clause  first,  in  order  to  connect 
the  relative  with  its  antecedent—'  comedy  '. 

Placing  of  Prepositions. 

14.  Prepositions  should  be  placed  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  words  they  govern. 

The  following  sentence  is  faulty  in  this  respect: — 'appears 
Lausanne — with  at  its  foot  tJie  little  village  of  Ouchy  '. 

But  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  there  is  a  certain  inversion 
allowable  in  English,  whereby  a  preposition  is  far  removed  from 
its  regimen.  The  principal  case  is  wJien  it  governs  a  relative  or 
interrogative  word.  '  The  gipsies  are  a  people  whom  we  know 
next  to  nothing  about. '  '  What  we  are  going  to,  is  abundantly 
obscure ;  but  what  all  men  are  going  from,  is  very  plain  '  (John 
Sterling).  '  Whit  are  you  looking/or  ? ' 

There  are  also  not  unfrequent  cases  of  emphasis,  where  the 
word  governed  by  the  preposition  is  required  to  go  prominently 
'forward  :  '  Now  Sir  Francis,  though  he  was  for  a  long  time  our 
hero,  we  never  exchanged  a  word  with.  ' 

Further  examples  : — '  Me,  whom  their  foundation  binds  them 
to  pray  for,  they  suffer  to  die  like  a  houseless  dog '  (Scott). 
'The  oddity  of  character  which  great  men  are  sometimes 
remarkable  for,  Mapertuis  was  not  entirely  free  from  '  (Gold- 
smith). '  That  which  ordinary  men  are  fit  fort  I  am  qualified 
t» '  (Sliak.). 

Placing  of  Conjunctions. 

15.  The  members  of  double-membered  conjunctions 
should  be  placed  in  right  correspondence. 

The    single- word     conjunctions    cause    very    litlie    trouble. 


ELLIPSIS    AND    PLEONASM.  827 

Perhaps  the  chief  blemish  to  style  arising  from  mismapagomont 
of  these  is  seen  when  '  however  '  or  '  therefore  '  is  postponed  too 
far. 

4  Not — but ',  and  '  not  only — but  (also) '  have  already  received 
attention  (§§  9,  10).  It  remains  to  exemplify  'neither — nor'. 

*  lie  would  neither  give  wine,  nor  oil,  nor  money  '  (Thackeray)  : 
the  conjunctions   should    be   placed   each   before   one    of    the 
excluded  objects  ;   '  neither  gire  '  implies  '  neither  (some  other 
verb) ',  a  meaning  not  intended.     Re-arrange  thue,  taking  all 
the  common  parts  of  the  contracted  sentences  together  :  '  He 
would  give  neither  wine,  nor  oil,  nor  money  '.     So  :   '  she  can 
neither   help   her   beauty,  nor  her   courage,  nor   her   cruelty  ' 
(Thackeray).      '  He  had  neither  time  to  intercept  nor  to  stop 
her '  (Scott).       '  Some  neither   can  for  wits  nor  critics  pass ' 
(Pope.)  

16.  Ellipsis  :  the  leaving  out  of  some  part  of  the 
full  expression. 

In  addition  to  the  three  great  processes,  named  Concord, 
Government,  and  Order  of  words,  grammarians  consider  that 
certain  cases  of  the  syntax  of  sentences  are  explained  by 
ELLIPSIS,  which  would  therefore  be  ranked  as  a  fourth  binding 
process  of  composition.  Many  examples  of  ellipsis  have  already 
occurred.  The  following  are  further  examples  :  '  I  sent  to  the 
bookseller's  (shop)  '  ;  *  whose  (is)  this  image  and  superscription  ?' 
'that  (point)  is  the  point'  ;  'the  greatest  man  (of  the  men)  on 
(the)  earth  '  ;  '  they  love  each  (one  loves  the)  other  '  ;  '  come 
(you) '  ;  '  how  shall  1  curse  (him)  whom  God  hath  not  cursed  ? ' 

•  who's  that  (that)  knocks  ? ' 

An  honest  man,  close  buttoned  to  the  chin, 
Broad  cloth  without,  and  a,  warm  heart  within. 

Here  there  is  an  ellipsis  of  the  participle.  '  Can  you  sing  ? ' 
'I  will  try  to  (sing) ';  '  (1)  thank  you';  'nothing  (is)  so  good, 
but  it  may  be  abused  ';  '  they  applied  to  the  Duke  of  all  men  '. 


The  virtuous  (     )  alone  are  happy  (     ).'      '  (     )  Better  (    )  be 
'(    )  Please,  don't  (    ).'       'When  did 
you  (      )  reach  (      )  home  ? '      '  (      )  An   hour  later  than  we 


with  the  dead    (     ).' 


expected  (  ).'  'His  future  (  )  is  as  dark  (  )  as  ever  (  ).' 
'  Though  (  )  defeated,  he  still  pushes  (  )  onwards.'  'You 
and  I,  if  not  he  (  ),  will  certainly  (  )  go  soon. ' 

17.  Pleonasm  :  the  expression  or  indication  of  some 

part  of  the  meaning  more  than  once ;  excess  of  words. 

This  is  the  opposite  of  Ellipsis.     It  is  a   device   sometimes 

resorted   to   for  rhetorical  force.      The   following   are   further 


328  PURITY. 

examples    in  addition   to  those  that  have  already  occurred: : 

*  for  ttie  deck,  it  was  their  field  of  fame  '  ;  '  my  banks,  they  arc 
furnished  with  bees '  ;  '  the  night  it  was  gloomy,  the  wind  it 
was  high  '.     *  We  all  of  ?AS  complain  of  the  shortness  of  time  '. 
'  The  friends  of  my  youth,  where  are  they  ? '     '  The  interests  of 
his  family,  the  security  of  his  dynasty,  these  were  his  end  and 
aim.'      'Truth,  like  a  torch,  the  more  it's  shook,  it    shines.' 

*  He  that  witholdeth  corn,  the  people  shall  curse  him.  '     *  Make 
speed  from    hence.'       'Because   I   believed,    therefore  have   1 
spoken.' 

Double  Negation. — Here  may  be  mentioned  the  nse  of  more 
than  a  single  negative  to  express  denial.  This  was  usual  in  Old 
English.  In  the  Elizabethan  age,  the  double  negative  appears 
often  to  strengthen  the 'denial.  '  I  never  was -nor  never  will  l>«; 
false  '  ;  '  1  would  not  have  believed  no  tongue  but  Hubert's '. 

Now,  however,  it  is  the  rule  in  E-igli-sh  that  two  negatives 
make  a  positive  ;  the  one  neutralizes  the  other  ;  aa  '  1  entertain 
a  nc£  wttfavourable  opinion  of  him '.  Hence,  when  denial  is 
intended,  it  is  an  inconsistency  to  use  move  than  one  negative. 

*  They  cannot  utter  the  one,  nor  will  they  not  utter  the  other  ' ; 

*  this  is  not  always  the  case  neither'.     'They  will  not  be  dis- 
appointed at  the  result  no  more  than  you  are  yourself.' 

18.  If  we  were  to  dwell  on  incidental  and  exceptional 
constructions,  we  might  note  the  following  as  a  ease  of 
Parenthesis,  or  the  insertion  of  an  unconnected  expression  h> 
the  middle  of  a  sentence  :  '  our  ideas  are  movements  of  tlie 
nerves  of  sense,  as  of  the  optic  nerve,  in  recollecting  visible 
ideas,  suppose  of  a  triangular  piece  of  ivory  '. 


OF  PUlilTY. 

Besides  observing  the  rules  of  grammar,  we  must 
employ  only  such  words  as  really  belong  to 
the  language,  ami  \ve  must  use  them  in  their 
correct  sense.  To  attend  to  these  conditions  is 
to  have  regard  to  Purity. 

The  errors  against  purity  are  classed  under  three 
heads  :  Barbarism,  Solecism,  and  Impropriety. 

Barbarism. 

This  consists  in  using  words  that  are  not 
English.  ISuch  are — 1.  Obsolete  words. 


BARBARISM.       SOLECISM.  329 

In  old  writers  there  occur  many  words  that  hare  now  ceased 
to  be  current  ;  some  of  them  being  no  longer  intelligible.. 
Such  are  'bight',  'clept',  'erst',  'umwhile',  'behest', 
'  addulce  ',  '  surcease  ',  '  uneath  ',  '  whilom  ',  &c. 

2.  New  Beards  not  fully  adopted  into  the  language. 

New  words  are  in  part  borrowed  from  foreign  languages, 
Some  are  introduced  for  good  reasons,  as  new  scientific  terms, 
and  the  names  of  new  materials  ('  gutta-percha',  for  example), 
But  many  are  used  without  much  necessity.  Such  are  most  of 
the  following  words  from  the  French  :  —  '  sortie  ',  '  dernier 
resort',  'beaux  arts',  'Kiles  lettres'  (polite  literature  V 
'  pplitesse  ',  '  delicatesse  ',  '  liauSiur  ',  '  connoisseur  ',  '  recon- 
noitre', '  agrements  ',  'opine',  'ignore',  'fraicheur',  'esprit 
de  corps',  'cortege',  'soubriquet',  'habitue',  'boudoir', 
'  espionage  ',  '  souvenir  ',  '  parole  ',  '  en  rapport  *,  '  arriere 
pensee',  'en  passant',  'en  revanejle  '.  Some  indicate  shades 
of  meaning  that  we  cannot  express  by  English  words,  and  hence 
the  pretext  for  using  them  ;  for  example  :  '  ennui  ',  '  prestige  \ 
*  naivete  ',  '  dolce  far  niente  '  (ItaL),  '  verbiage  ',  '  solidarity  '.  ' 

It  is  a  special  objection  to  the  employment  of  these  words, 
that  the  pronunciation  of  them  is  totally  different  from  the 
pronunciation  of  our  language.  In  books  they  are  generally 
printed  in  Italics,  to  mark  that  they  are  not  English. 

A  number  »f  Latin  words  and  phrases  have  obtained  currency 
in  their  original  form  ;  as  'onus  probandi\  '  obiter  dictum  , 
'  '  '  '  '  '  •  '  '  ' 


re»  gcAac  ',  '  a  priori  ',  •  a,  posteriori  ',  '  a  fortiori'  t 
'  turn  ttquUu  r  ',  'ad  hominem',  '  verbatim  et  literatim',  'in 
the  interim,  'a  sine  qua  turn',  'in  exUiuo',  tc.  It  is  well  to 
employ  such  phrases  as  little  as  possible. 

Newly-coined  words  are  barbarous  until  their  adoption  has 
become  general  There  is  a  constant  tendency  to  coin  new 
words,  a  great  number  of  which  never  obtain  currency.  Thus, 
•martyrised',  for  'martyred',  '  incmnhcrment'  for  'encum- 
brance', 'proclivity',  'productivity',  'aeqwusts',  are  words 
suggested,  but  not  adopted. 

Many  new  words  and  phrases  that  have  come  from  America 
have  been  more  or  less  freely  adopted  ;  as  '  outsiders  ',  '  coin- 
cidences ',  'immigrants',  'progress*  (as  a  verb),  fce.  The 
ground  of  their  adoption  is  necessity  or  convenience. 

Solecism. 

The  words  employed  may  be  English,  bat  they 
may  be  combined  in  a  form  that  is  not  English, 
This  is  Solecism. 


330  PURITY. 

Bad  Syntax  is  included  in  the  definition,  but  there 
may  be  Solecisms  that  do  not  violate  grammar ;  they 
are  then  said  to  be  violations  of  idiom. 

If  we  say  '  I  have  hunger  ',  we  do  not  commit  had  grammar  ; 
still  the  combination  is  not  English  :  it  is  French.  '  1  feel  a 
smell '  is  grammatical,  but  not  according  to  idiom.  '  I  will 
speak  my  mind',  'get  thee  gone'  (we  cannot  say  'make  thee 
gone'),  'many  a  man',  'you  had  best',  'do  honour  to' 
(Shakespeare  says  'do  grace  to  Caesar's  corpse'),  'once  and 
again  ',  are  English  idioms,  which  have  come  into  use  from  very 
different  causes  and  must  now  be  observed. 

Impropriety. 

This  means  employing  words  in  a  wrong 
sense. 

1.  Impropriety  in  single  words. 

Scott  and  Thackeray  use  the  expression,  'There  was  a  quantity 
of  people  present ',  for  'there  were  a  number '. 

It  often  happens  that  two  words  have  similar,  bnt  not 
identical  meanings,  so  that  the  one  cannot  be  used  for  the  other 
on  every  occasion.  Such  terms  are  called  synonymous,  or 
synonymes.  The  following  are  examples: — 'all,  every,  each  '  ; 
'  allow,  permit '  ;  '  assist,  help 1  ;  '  astonish,  surprise  '  ,  '  belief, 
faith  '  ;  '  pleasure,  delight,  joy  ;  '  repentance,  remorse  '  ; 
'principle,  truth'  ;  'observe,  remark'  ;  'on  the  contrary,  on 
the  other  hand  '. 

Another  class  of  improprieties  originate  in  not  adverting  to 
the  composition  of  a  word,  or  to  the  precise  force  of  the  prefix  or 
the  suffix  combined  with  the  root.  Thus  :  '  Ramus  published  a 
Greek  grammar,  with  many  important  variances  from  his 
precursors',  for  'variations'  ;  'the  observation  of  the  Sabbath'; 
'  the  observance  '  ;  '  the  Greek  is  a  language  superior  in  riches ' 
('  richness ')  ;  'he  felt  himself  compelled  to  acknowledge  the 
justice  (jmtncss)  of  my  remark '  ;  '  the  negligence  (neglect)  of 
this  leaves  us  exposed  '. 

Sometimes  we  are  misled  by  similarity  of  sound,  as  in  using 
the  word  '  demean  '  (signifying  '  to  behave  ',  '  to  conduct  one's 
self,  as  in  '  demeanour ')  in  the  sense  of  '  lowering ',  '  debasing', 
'  making  me-an  '.  Thackeray,  indeed,  seems  to  use  '  demean  ' 
as  equivalent  to  'degrade',  '  debase',  three  times  out  of  four; 
alternating  with  this  the  sense  of  '  behave  '.  (See  Philij)). 
'  They  form  a  procession  to  proceed  (precede)  the  palanquin  of 
ambassador  ' ;  '  he  rose  (raised)  the  price  of  bread  last  week  ' ; 
*  it  lays  (lies)  on  the  table  '  ;  '  they  wrecked  (wreaked)  their 
vengeance  '. 


IMPROPRIETY. 


331 


2.  Impropriety  in  phrases. 

This  refers  to  expressions  that  contain,  when  analyzed,  some 
inconsistency  or  absurdity.  A  common  inst.uice  of  the  clas>  i^ 
seen  hi  the  following  example  : — 'it  celebrates  the  Chuich  of 
England  as  the  most  perfect  of  all  others',  meaning  '  the  most 
periect  of  all '.  So  :  '  Northumberland  was  the  most  extensive 
of  any  Anglo-Saxon  state'  (Hallam)  :  for  either  'the  most 
extensive  of  all  the  Anglo- Sn&on  states  ',  or  '  more  extensive  th-m 
any  other  Anglo-Saxon  state'.  'He  has  made  the  hi^he  t 
number  of  marks  ever  made  in  any  former  year.  '  'Shakespeare 
was  the  man  who  of  all  modern,  and  perhaps  ancient  poets,  had 
the  largest  and  most  comprehensive  soul '  (Dry den)  :  there  is  at 
least  some  ambiguity  here. 

'  The  c.>n;eliest  man  of  men  since  horn 
His  sons.     The  fairest  of  her  daughters  Eve  '. 

This  makes  Adam  one  of  his  sens  and  Eve  one  of  her  daughters ! 
'  I  had  like  to  have  gotten  one  or  two  broke  n  heads  lor  my 
impertinence  '  ;  'I  was  once  or  twice  likely  to  get  my  head 
broken  for  my  impertinence  '. 

'  Like  kings  we  lose  tbe  conquests  gained  before, 
By  vain  ambition  still  to  make  them  more'. 

*  Conquests  gained  before  ',  cannot  1  e  made  '  more  '. 

Pleonastic  expressions  are  sometimes  to  be  ranked  as  im- 
proprieties. For  example,  the  case  of  double  negatives  (page 
328).  So  :  '  These  two  men  are  both  equal  in  strength  ',  is  an 
inconsistent  expression,  if  it  be  mei.nt  that  one  is  equal  to  the 
other. 

Many  improprieties  are  provincialisms,  or  district  pecu- 
liarities. Thus,  we  have  Scotticisms,  Irishisms,  Americanisms, 
Cockneyisms. 

The  Scotticism  consists,  not  in  the  employment  of  purely 
Scotch  words,  but  in  the  employment  of  English  words  in  a 
Scotch  meaning  or  construction.  A  list  of  Scotticisms  is  here 
appended,  in  addition  to  those  already  noticed. 

SCOTTICISMS. 
1.    Un-Eiiylish  use  of  Words. 


He  was  amissing.—  Missing. 

I  have  nothing  ado,  or  nothing  else 

ado. — To  do. 

He  has  been  ailing  for  some  weeks. 
-Unwell. 

I  would  rather  go  CM  stay. — Than. 
He  is  away.   -He   is  absent,  not 

present. 
How  nre  you  to-day  ?    Very  bad, — 

III     Badly. -VL 


His  watch  is  before.  —  Fast. 

Your  watch  is  behind.  —  Slow.  I 
fear  I  shall  be  behind.  Late. 

When  I  shall  be  beside  you.— With. 

By-gone,  by-past. —Past.  Shakes- 
peare has  gone-by. 

A  sugur-fcontf.—  Musin. 

He  walked  at  the  burial. — Funeral. 

They  never  cast-out. — Disagree,  or 
quarrel. 


332 


SCOTTICISMS, 


Cattle   in    Scotch    includes   cows, 

oxen,  &c. ,  but  not  so  particularly 

horses  as  in  England. 
I  was  his  caution.  — Security. 
Close  the  door. — Shut. 
For  common.— Commonly. 
Compliment. — A  present. 
Corn  the  horses.— Feed. 
A  couple  of  hens.  —  Two  hens. 
A   coarse  day  ;    coarse  weather. — 

Bad.     But   we  may  say,  a  fine 

day,  and  fine  weather. 
Are  your  children  at  the  counting  ? 

—  Studying  arithmetic. 
A  cloth-brush.— A  clothes-brush. 
To  crave  a  man  for  a  debt, — To  dun 

him  or  demand  payment  of  him. 

To  crave  a  debt,  or  to  crave  pay- 
ment, might  be  proper. 
Were  you  crying  on  me  ?  -Calling. 
To  disabuse  is  sometimes  used  for 

'  to  abuse '. 
He  is   dull.—  Deaf.      The    day  is 

dull. — Overcast. 
An  oaken  deal.  —Plank.    Deals,  or 

deal-boards  are  made  of  fir  or 

pine. 
He  is    much  distressed  with  an 

inward  trouble.     With  an  inter- 
nal disease. 
Give  me  a  drink.— Give  me  drink, 

some    drink,  or   something    to 

drink. 

A  faint.  —A  fainting-fit ;  a  swoon. 
I  feel  afraid.— I  nm  afraid. 
I  feel  a  sweet  smell.— I   smell  a 

sweet  smell,  I  smell  something 

agreeable.     To  feel  a  smell  is  as 

repugnant  to  the  English  idiom 

as  to  see  a  sound. 
He  fevered;    he  took  a  fever. — He 

had  fever ;  or  he  was  taken,  or 

seized,  with  fever. 
I  find  no  pain.  —  FeeL 
Flesher.- Butcher.  • 
A  flower    (bunch  of    flowers).— A 

nosegay. 

Fog  is  a  Scotch  name  for  moss. 
For  ordinary.—  Ordinarily,  usually, 

commonly. 
A    four-square    table.— A  square 

table. 
Fresh    weather.— Soft,   open,    not, 

frosty. 
Friend. — Used  for   a  relation  (in 

blood). 

Frighted.— Afraid,  frightened. 
The  frost  is  slippery.— The  ice. 
Gear. — Wealth  or  riches. 
I  was  unable  to  get.— Get  away. 


My  glasges. — Spectacles. 

Goblet.— Saucepan. 

'  Greedy  '  and  '  greediness '  are 
English,  but  greed  is  Scotch. 

The  boy  was  itt-guided.— Ill-used, 
iJl-treated. 

He  fell  in  the  gutter.— In  the  dirt, 

What's   o'clock?      Half  six.-    Half 
an  hour  past  five,  or  half  past , 
five.     Five  minutes  fi-om  twelve. 

—Five  minutes  to  twelve,  or  before 
twelve  ;  or,  it  wants  five  minutes 
of  twelve.  (By  floe  minutes  from 
twelve  an  Englishman  would 
un  terstand  five  minutes  past 
twelve.) 

Hard  fish.    -Dried  fish,  or  salt  fish. 

I  was  in  London  last  harvest. — 
Autumn. 

He  id  of  a  street. — Upper  end. 

HOT  head.- — Headache. 

A  hirer  in  Scotland  is  one  who 
lends  a  horse  for  hire.  In  Eng- 
land it  is  one  who  borrows  a 
thing,  and  pays  money  for  the 
use  of  it;  or  who  employs 
another  and  pays  him  wages. 

Irikholder.  — Inkhorn. 

To  km.  —  To  know.  In  modern 
poetical  English  to  ken  is  to 
descry,  to  see  at  a  distance. 

Kindle  a  fire  —{Not  improper,  but 
the  more  usual  English  word  is 
'Light'.) 

To  labour  the  ground.— To  till  the 
ground. 

Fodder  is  large.— Plentiful,  in 
plenty. 

Every  lawful  day.— Every  week- 
day. 

In  old  English  and  in  Scotch,  to 
leam  means  both  to  give  and  to 
receive  instruction  :  but  in  Eng- 
lish it  is  now  confined  to  the 
latter  meaning. 

He  is  still  in  life.—  Alive. 

I  lifted  a  pin  from  the  carpet. — 
Picked  up. 

Lime  for  mortar  is  Scotch.  Mortar 
is  the  cement  when  prepared  ; 
and  lime,  sand,  and  water  are 
the  materials. 

He  was  lost  in  the  river.— Drown- 
ed. If  the  body  be  carried  away, 
or  not  found,  the  person  may  be 
said  to  be  lost. 

In  old  English  and  in  Scotch, 
meat  means  food  in  general.  In 
modern  English  it  denotes  flesh- 
meat. 


SCOTTICISMS. 


333 


I  do  not  mind  that  I  ever  saw  you 
before.  —  Remember.  To  mind 
is  in  English  to  attend  to,  as 
'  mind  your  business  '. 

The  project  misgave. — Failed,  or 
miscarried.  '  My  mind  misgave 
me ',  is  correct. 

The  boy  misguides  his  clothes. — 
Abuses  or  sullies.  To  misguide 
is  to  mislead. 

On  the  morn ,—  Morrow. 

Napkin .  — Pocket-handkerchief. 

The  omission  of  a  point  sometimes 

.  makes  great  odds  in  the  sense.  — 
A  great  difference. 

Jf  I  had  it  in  my  offer,  I  would 
not  accept  of  it. — In  my  choice. 
The  offer  is  here  supposed  to  be 
not  mine,  but  made  by  another. 

This  bread  is  old.—  Stale. 

Cut  out  your  hair.—  Off. 

Take  out  your  glass. —  Take  your 
glass. 

In  an  overly  manner.— Cursory,  or 

.  superficial. 

A  pair  of  ducks  ;  a  pair  of  par- 
tridges.— Two  ducks  ;  a  brace  of 
partridges. 

The  park  is  well  ploughed.— Field. 

Plainstones.  -Pavement. 

He  was  pointed  in  his  answers. — 
Exact  and  concise  Pointed,  in 
the  figurative  sense,  applied  to 
language;  conveys  the  idea  of 
wit  or  conceit. 

A  gentleman's  policies. — Pleasure- 
grounds. 

Pouch  is  used  in  Scotland,  and  was 
used  in  England,  for  pocket. 
But  a  pocket  is  inserted  in  the 
clothes,  a  pouch  is  not. 

He  lives  presently  in  London. — At 
present. 

To  pull  up  by  the  roots.  — To  pluck 
up  by  the  roots.  To  pull  a 
flower. — To  pluck  a  flower.  One 
might  pull  a  flower  without 
pucking  it.  Separation  .seems 
to  be  implied  in  the  latter  word. 

Queer,  in  English,  is  odd,  strange. 
particular.  In  Scotland  it  is 
\wed  in  the  sense  of  comical, 
humorous. 

He  will  not  readily  do  that.— He  is 
not  likely  to  do  that.  One 
would  readily  imagine. —Natu- 
rally. Readily,  in  English,  de- 
notes with  little  delay  or  hind- 
rance. 


Considerable  arrears  being  now 
resting  to  the  soldiers. — Remain- 
ing. 

The  babe  roars.— Cries. 

Roasted  cheese.— Toasted  cheese. 

Roof  of  a  room.  —  Ceiling. 

He  roves  in  a  fever. — Raves.  To 
rove  is  to  roam  or  wander. 

I  am  scarce  of  fodder. — Short  of 
fodder,  have  not  a  sufficiency. 

A  Scots  idiom.— A  Scotch  idiom. 

He  scoured  the  knives.  —Cleaned. 

That  dress  sets  her  well.— Becomes. 

For  my  share  I  can  only  say,  &c.  — 
For  my  part. 

Shearers.  —Reapers.  A  shearer,  in 
England,  is  one  that  cuts  with 
shears.  '  A  sheep  before  her 
shearers  is  dumb.' 

The  ship  is  at  the  shore.— Quay, 
wharf.  The  shore  is  the  coast 
of  the  sea. 

Have  you  any  silver?-  Change. 

I  will  answer  the  letter  so  soon  as 
I  receive  it. — As.  It  is  correct 
to  say,  '  I  did  not  receive  the 
letter  so  soon  as  I  expected  it '. 

A  soft  day. --Wet. 

The" candlestick  is  sitting  in  the 
press.— Stands  in  the  cupboard. 

Some  better.—  A  little,  something. 
You  will  some  day  know  it. — 
One. 

Do  you  snuff? — Take  snuff. 

The  servan  t  was  sorting  the  room 
at  the  time. — Putting  in  order. 

Is  your  watch  out  of  sorts?-  Out 
of  order. 

Speak  to  me.— Listen  to  me. 

In  Scotland  spice  is  used  for  pepper, 
and  corn  for  oats.  But  pepper, 
cloves,  cinnamon,  mace,  are 
different  sorts  of  spice  ;  and  oats, 
barley,  rye,  wheat,  are  different 
kinds  of  corn. 

A  winding  stair  goes  from  top  to 
bottom.— Winding  stairs. 

The  horse  stammers.  —  Stumbles. 

He  stopped  three  months  with 
them.  —Remained,  resided,  stay- 
ed. 

In  Scotland  the  word  storm  is  used 
to  signify  a  storm  of  snow,  or 
snowy  weather.  Even  the  ex- 
pression lying  storm  is  made  use 
of. 

A  man's  subjects. — Effects. 

Send  me  a  swatch  of  the  cloth. — 
Sample. 

Sweet  butter.—  Fresh  butter. 


334 


SCOTTICISMS. 


Sweet  milk.— New  milk. 

Tell  the  man  to  come  here. — Bid 
the  man  come  here  or  hither. 
Or  tell  the  man  that  1  wish  to 
speak  to  him. 

The  two  boys  strove.—  Quarrelled. 

Pope  was  a  tender  man. — Weakly. 

This  donation  was  the  more  ac- 
ceptable, that  it  was  given  with- 
out solicitation. — Because. 

He  is  twenty  years  old,  or  thereby. 

—  Thereabout,  or  thereabouts. 

The  church  was  very  throng. — 
Full,  crowded. 

A  timber  candlestick.— Wooden. 

Tradesman,  in  Scotland,  is  one  that 
works  with  his  hands  at  a  trade. 
In  England  it  is  a  shopkeeper, 
who  either  does  or  does  not 
work  with  his  hands. 

Sore  trouble.— Painful  disease. 

James  is  turned  a.  great  student. — 
Has  become. 

Wtrinxeot,  for  '  oak ',  ia  a  Scot- 
ticism.— Wainscot.in  the  English 
sense,  is  the  inner  lining  of  a 
wall  with  any  sort  of  wood. 

Lend  me  your  knife.  I  cannot 
want  it.— Do  without  it. 

The  water  of  Don. — The  River  Don. 

I  weary  when  I  sit  alone.  —Become 
weary.  Weary,  in  England,  is  a 
transitive  verb;  as  '  walking 
wearies  me '. 

The  weaving  or  working  of  stockings 


is  a  great  manufacture  in  Aber- 
deenshire.  —Knitting, 

I  rose  whenever  I  heard  you  call.— 
When,  as  soon  as.  Whenever  is 
at  what  ever  time. 

Wh  itsu  n  day.  -  Whitsu  u  tid  e. 

Some  say  that  our  whole  actions 
are  selfish.  — All  our  actions. 
His  whole  fiiends  forsook  him.  — 
All  his  friends. 

An  old  wife. — An  old  woman.  A 
wife  is  a  woman  who  has  a 
husband. 

What's  your  will?— What  do  you 
want  ? 

I  never  witnessed  anything  so 
ridiculous. — Beheld,  or  saw. 
Last  night  I  witnessed  a  very 
agreeable  conversation.  Was 
present  at. 

Mr.  is  come  ;  I  hear  his  word. 

— Voice. — Have  you  any  word  to 
your  brother. — Have  you  any 
message  ? 

Carpenters,  joiners,  cabinet- 
makers, «fec.,  are,  in  Scotland, 
called  wrights,  and  sometimes 
square-wrights.  Wright  is  work- 
man or  artificer  ;  but  in  England 
is  used  in  composition  only  ;  as 
'  ship- wright ',  '  wheel-wright '. 

A  writer.-  An  attorney.  In  Eng 
land  a  writer  is  an  author. 

A  yard.—  A  garden. 

Yesternight. — Last  night. 


2.   Un-English  Phrases. 


Butter  and  bread.— 'Bread  and 
butter.  In  all  similar  phrases 
bread  has  the  precedency  ;  as 
'  bread  and  milk ',  '  bread  and 
cheese',  &c. 

/  behoved  to  go.  — It  behoved  me  to 
go.  I  was  obliged  to  go. 

I  would  die  before  I  would  break 
my  word.— Rather  than  break. 

A  bit  bread,  a  bit  paper.— A  bit  of 
bread,  a  bit  of  paper. 

To  cause  him  to  do  it,  is  better  than 
to  cause  him  do  it.  But  to  make 
him  do  it  is  better  than  to  make 
hiir*  to  do  it  ;  which  last  phrase, 
however,  though  uncommon,  is 
not  without  authority.  Again, 
/  made  him  do  it  is  right  ;  but  he 
was  made  do  it  is  wrong.  It 
must  be,  he  was  made  to  do  it. 

I    would    have    you    to    know. — I     I 
would  have  you  kuow. 


To  play  cards.— To  play  at  cards. 
To  cast  up  a  fault  to  one. — To 

upbraid  one  with  a  fault. 
A  letter  conceived  in  the  following 

words. — Containing. 
To  hinder  to  do. — To  hinder  from 

What  like  is  it  ?- What  is  it  like  ? 
Well,  there  is  no  matter.— No 

matter,  or  it  is  no  matter. 
The    child    took    the    pox.  —  Was 

seized    with,    or    taken    ill   of, 

small-pox. 
Give  me  a  clean   plate.— Change 

my  plate. 

A  piece  bread.—  A  piece  of  bread. 
To  think  shame. — To  be  ashamed. 
He  thinks  long  for  summer.-  He 

longs  for  summer.  ('  Think  long ' 

occurs    in    Roister     Doister,    the 

earliest  English  Comedy,  1553.) 
Everything  succeeds  to  a  wish.—' 


PUNCTUATION. 


335 


As  one  would  wish,  according  to 

our  wishes. 
He  wat  in  use  to  walk  every  day. — 

He  used  to  walk,  or  was  wont  to 

walk. 
He  has  a  good  hand  of  write. — He 

writes  well. 

I  am  going  to  play  myself.  —To  play. 
Who  do    you    sit    under? — Whose 

Church  do  you  go  to  ? 
You  may   lay  your    account   with 

opposition.— You  may  expect,  or 

reckon  upon,  opposition. 
The  clock  is  standing.— Has  stop- 
ped. 
He  wants  out.— Be  wishes  to  go 

out. 
I  slipped  a  foot  and  fell  down.— 

My  foot  slipped  and  I  fell. 
James  and   John   are  perpetually 

quarrelling  with    one    another. — 

Are  perpetually  quarrelling. 


It  is  ten  years  ago  since  he  died.— 

It  is  ten  years  since  he  died. 
/  can  sing  none. — I  cannot  sing  at 

all. 
When  dots  the  church  go  in? — When 

does  service  begin  ? 
Take  it  (to)  yourself. 
Are  you  for  any  pudding  ?— Will 

you  take  ? 
Getting     his     breakfast.— Taking 

breakfast.     I  take  an  egg  to  (for) 

breakfast. 
I  can't  get  into  my  box. — I  can't 

open. 

I  will  let  you  see  it.—  Show  it  you. 
I  am    going   to   (my)   bed — (my) 

dinner. 

Almost  never. — Seldom  or  never. 
How  far  does  he  go  with  you? 

No  more  than  to  Edinburgh.— 

Farther. 


PUNCTUATION. 

Punctuation  divides  paragraphs  and  sentences  by 
points  or  stops,  with  a  view  to  assist  us  in  discovering 
readily  the  connexions  of  the  words,  and  to  indicate  the 
pauses  required  in  reading. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  reference  of  qualifying  adjuncts  is 
to  he  determined  principally  by  their  proximity  to  the  words 
they  qualify.  Punctuation  is  an  additional  help. 

The  chief  Stops  are  these  :  the  comma  ( , ),  the 
semicolon  (;),  and  the  full  stop,  or  period  (.). 
The  colon  ( : )  is  something  intermediate  between  the 
semicolon  and  full  stop,  but  is  not  often  required. 

The  other  stops  are — the  interrogation  (?),  put  at  the  end  of  a 
question  ;  the  parentheses  (  ),  and  the  brackets  [  ],  to  indicate  a 
remark  thrown  in  without  connexion  with  the  rest  of  the  sen- 
tence ;  the  dash  ( — ) ;  and  the  exclamation  ( 1). 

The  Comma. 

SIMPLE   SENTENCES. 

I.  A  very  long  Subject  is  separated  from 
the  Predicate  by  a  comma. 


336  PUNCTUATION. 

The  comma  is  used  before  the  verb  if  the  subject  is  rendered 
very  long  by  means  of  adjuncts  :  '  The  circumstance  of  his 
being  unprepared  to  adopt  immediate  and  decisive  measures,  was 
represented  to  the  Government'. 

But  in  ordinary  cases  a  stop  should  not  be  placed  between  the 
subject  and  the  verb :  '  To  be  totally  indifferent  to  pnaise  or 
censure  is  a  real  defect  of  character  '. 

2.  Co-ordinating  adjuncts   of  the  subject 
are  isolated  by  commas. 

The  comma  is  used  before  and  after  a  participle  or  participial 
; phrase  when  co-ordinathig,  and  not  restrictive:  'The  jury, 
^having  retired  for  half  an  hour,  brought  in  a  verdict  for  the 
'defendant'  ;  '  encouraged  by  his  first  successes ;  he  redoubled  his 
efforts '.  But  when  the  participial  phrase  is  restrictive,  the 
•comma  is  not  used,  it  being  improper  to  separate  a  limiting 
adjunct  from  the  word  limited  by  it  :  '  A  king  ^depending  on  the 
•support  of  his  subjects  cannot  rashly  go  to  war  '.' 

The  same  rule  extends  to  adjectives  and  nouns  in  apposition, 
i  when  they  are  qualified  by  other  words,  and  are  in  their  effect 
j  co-ordinating  rather  than  restrictive  :  '  The  stranger,  unwilling 
ito  obtrude  himself  on  our  notice,  left  in  the  morning'  ;  'Borne, 
'•  the  city  of  the  Emperors,  became  the  city  of  the  Popes '.  Even 
without  adjuncts,  a  word  in  apposition,  especially  when  adding 
new  information,  is  often  enclosed  in  commas  :  '  Paul,  the 
Apostle  ',  &c.  But  it  is  advisable  so  to  punctuate  as  to  main- 
tain the  distinction  between  restrictive  and  co-ordinating 
adjuncts. 

3.  An     Adverbial    Phrase    preceding    the 
verb,  or  its  subject,  is  usually  followed  by  a 
comma. 

'  In  truth,  I  could  not  tell '  ;  '  to  sum  up,  the  matter  is  this ' ; 
'  everything  being  ready,  they  departed ' ;  '  by  looking  a  little 
deeper,  the  reason  will  be  found  '. 

When  complex  adverbial  phrases  come  between  the  subject 
and  the  verb,  they  are  placed  between  commas. 

4.  The    name    of   a    person   addressed  is 
isolated  by  commas. 

'  John,  come  here '  ;  '  tell  me,  boy,  what  is  your  name  ? ' 

5.  A  Phrase  or  quotation  that  is  either  the 
subject  or  the  object  of  the  verb,  is  usually 
followed  or  preceded  by  a  comma. 


THE    COMMA.  337 

The  most  frequent  cases  perhaps  do  not  occur  in  simple 
sentences,  and  often,  especially  if  the  phrase  or  quotation  be 
long,  a  colon  is  used.  '  He  said,  "  Let  us  go  hence  V 

COMPLEX   SENTENCES. 

1.  A  Noun  Clause  that  is  the  subject  of  a 
verb,  if  long,  should  be  followed  by  a  comma. 

'  That  the  work  of  forming  and  perfecting  the  character  is 
difficult,  is  generally  allowed.' 

If  the  clause  follows  the  verb,  a  comma  does  not  usually 
precede  :  '  It  is  known  that  a  full  examination  took  place '. 

So  an  object  noun  clause  is  not  usually  preceded  by  a  comma, 
unless  it  is  of  very  great  length. 

2.  A   restrictive  Adjective   Clause   is    not 
separated  by  a  comma  from  the  noun. 

This  is  on  the  principle  already  laid  down  concerning  restric- 
tive adjuncts. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  co-ordinating  clause,  introduced  by  the 
relative,  is  preceded  and,  if  need  be,  followed  by  a  comma  :  '  I 
went  to  view  the  river,  which  I  found  greatly  swollen '. 

An  adjective  clause  has  a  comma  placed  after  it  when  it  has 
the  effect  of  very  much  lengthening  the  subject  of  the  principal 
verb  :  '  Any  one  that  refuses  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood,  is  not 
a  subject  for  charity  '.  This  is  on  the  same  principle  as  Rule  I. 
for  the  simple  sentence. 

A  comma  is  also  necessary  at  the  end  of  such  clauses  if  fol- 
lowed by  an  adverbial  adjunct  of  the  principal  verb,  which 
otherwise  might  be  referred  to  the  subordinate  clause ;  '  I  refused 
to  employ  the  man  that  he  recommended,  because  of  his  unfit- 
ness  for  the  post'. 

3.  Adverbial    clauses    are    separated    by 
commas   unless  they   are  short  and  closely 
connected  with  the  main  sentence. 

*  If  the  premises  were  admitted,  I  should  deny  the  conclusion ' ; 

*  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also  ' ;  '  send 
me  word  before  you  come '. 

COMPOUND    SENTENCES. 

Co-ordinate  sentences,  expressed  at  full 
length,  are  generally  separated  by  commas. 

•  '  But  his  pride  is  greater  than  his  ignorance,  and  what  he 
wants  in  knowledge  he  supplies  by  sufficiency.'   • 

2.2 


338  PUNCTUATION. 

A  slight  amount  of  contraction  does  not  dispense  with  the 
rule  :  '  A  man  of  polite  imagination  can  converse  with  a  picture, 
and  find  an  agreeable  companion  in  a  statue  '. 

But  when  the  sentences  are  very  closely  related  to  each  other, 
and  connected  by  the  conjunctions  '  find  ',  '  or  ',  '  nor ',  the 
comma  is  omitted  :  '  I  made  haste  and  overtook  him '  ;  '  neither 
money  nor  men  were  wanting '.  A  clause  introduced  by  an 
anestive  conjunction,  'but',  &c.,  must  be  separated  by  a 
comma  from  what  precedes,  owing  to  the  break  in  the  sense  : 
'  He  went  to  market,  but  did  not  find  what  he  wanted '. 

When  the  conjunction  is  omitted  between  two  co-ordinate 
sentences,  they  must  be  separated  by  a  comma  if  short,  and  by 
a  semicolon  if  long  and  complicated.  '  He  came,  he  saw,  lie 
conquered.'  When  such  sentences  (sometimes  called  collateral) 
are  contracted,  the  remaining  portions  are  still  divided  by 
commas  :  '  Early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise,  makes  a  man  healthy, 
wealthy,  and  wise  '  ;  or  '  healthy,  wealthy,  wise '.  '  Peter, 
James,  Thomas,  and  Mary  formed  the  party.' 

These  rules  are  all  pervaded  by  one  general  principle,  namely, 
that  when  words  are  closely  connected  in  grammar  or  in  sense 
they  must  not  be  separated  in  the  pointing  ;*  but  if  an  inter- 
ruption takes  place,  or  a  transition  is  made,  a  point  is  necessary. 
An  expression  enclosed  between  commas  is  in  some  sort  paren- 
thetical ;  there*would  be  no  break  in  the  grammatical  connexion, 
or  in  the  sense,  if  it  were  passed  over. 

The  Semicolon  and  the  Colon. 

The  Semicolon  is  introduced  when  a  greater 
pause  is  required  than  what  is  usually  indicated 
by  the  comma. 

In  the  construction  of  sentences,  or  periods,  we  may  have 
some  clauses  more  closely  connected  than  others,  and  the  degree 
of  connection  may  be  suggested  by  the  absence  of  a  stop,  by  a 
comma,  or  by  the  semicolon  :  '  Children  without  any  design 
imitate  the  language,  the  tone,  the  pronunciation,  the  looks, 
the  gestures,  the  gait  of  those  with  whom  they  live  ;  and  if  the 
imitation  be  continued  sufficiently  long,  no  efforts  in  after  life 
can  overcome  the  effects  of  it,  the  flexibility  or  docility,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  tissues  or  organs  concerned  seeming  to  diminish 
rapidly  with  the  approach  to  maturity,  or  the  cessation  of 
growth'.  Here  it  is  felt  that  the  break  or  pause  is  much 
greater  after  '  they  live  ',  than  at  the  end  of  the  various  words 

*  The  only  exception  to  this  is  Rule  1  (simple  sentence)  ;  but  that  is 
justified  on  the  ground  that  the  inordinate  length  of  the  subject  renders 
a  pause  desirable. 


SEMICOLON   AND   FULL   STOP.  339 

where  commas  are  used.  There  is  also  a  considerable  break  in 
the  sense  after  '  can  overcome  the  effects  of  it ',  where  also  there 
would  have  been  no  impropriety  in  placing  another  semicolon. 

When  a  pause  is  not  sufficiently  marked  by  the  semicolon, 
the  colon  may  be  used  at  the  writer's  discretion.  But  no  fixed 
rules  can  be  laid  down  respecting  the  use  of  this  stop.  One 
application  of  it  is  to  introduce  a  quotation,  a  narrative,  an 
argument,  or  an  enumeration  of  particulars  :  '  He  spoke  as  fol- 
lows '  :-— 

The  Period  or  Full  Stop. 

This  stop  is  used  at  the  close  of  a  complete 
sentence. 

The  rules  for  the  use  of  it  are  the  rules  for  the  composition  of 
peiiods  and  paragraphs.  The  most  usual  error  is  to  include  in  . 
one  period  the  matter  that  should  be  divided  into  two,  or ' 
perhaps  more. 

The  full  stop  is  used  after  abbreviations :  'MS.  ',  'LL.D.  ', 
1  Lond.  ',  '  Mr.  ',  '  Esq.  ',  '  Bart.'. 

The  note  of  interrogation  must  not  be  used  after  indirect 
questions  ;  as  '  he  asked  me  who  called  '. 

The  parentheses  enclose  some  remark  that  does  not  enter 
into  the  construction  of  the  sentence  : 

'  The  bliss  of  man  (could  prido  that  blessing  find) 
Is  not  to  act  or  think  beyond  mankind.' 

The  dash  marks  an  unexpected  or  emphatic  pause,  or  a 
sudden  break  or  transition  :  '  Why,  perhaps  it  is — but  what 
was  his  intention  ? ' 

Sometimes  it  is  used  to  mark  words  in  apposition,  or  in 
explanation  : 

•  They  plucked  the  seated  hills,  with  all  their  toad- 
Rocks,  waters,  woods — and  by  the  shaggy  tops 
Uplifting,  bore  them  in  their  hands,' 

Two  dashes  may  be  used  to  enclose  an  explanatory  paren- 
thetic clause  ;  '  In  truth,  the  character  of  the  great  chief  was 
depicted  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  before  his  birth,  and 
depicted — such  is  the  power  of  genius — in  colours  which  will 
be  fresh  as  many  years  after  his  death  '. 

Inverted  commas  are  used  to  mark  quotations. 

The  note  of  exclamation  or  admiration  is  used  after 
interjections  and  passionate  exclamations,  or  after  any  passages 
that  are  intended  to  be  especially  emphatic  :  '  A  dread  eternity  I 
how  surely  mine  ! ' 


340 


PARSING. 

The  various  parts  of  every  sentence  may  be  examined 
in  five  different  modes. 

In  giving  a  complete  account  of  a  sentence,  we  might  parse  it 
five  times,  for  as  many  different  purposes.  We  might  state 
first  the  part  of  speech  of  each  word  ;  secondly,  the  inflexion  of 
every  inflected  word  ;  thirdly,  the  derivation  of  each  word  ; 
fourthly,  the  analysis  of  the  sentence  ;  and  fifthly,  the  applica- 
tion of  the  syntactical  rules  of  concord,  government,  and  order 
to  the  sentence.  But  there  being  very  little  to  do  under  the 
second  head — inflexion,  we  may  conveniently  join  that  with  the 
first.  Also,  the  analysis  and  the  other  parts  of  syntax  are  so 
closely  allied,  that  we  may  take  the  whole  under  one  parsing. 
(The  analysis  might  also  be  easily  included  in  the  first  mode 
of  parsing.)  There  will  thus  be  three  distinct  parsings  appli- 
cable to  any  one  passage. 

I.  Parsing  for  Parts  of  Speech  (including 
Inflexion.) 

Under  this  we  state  the  Part  of  Speech  of  each 
word  (whether  Noun,  Pronoun,  &c.),  showing  how  it 
comes  under  the  Definition  ;  also  the  class  or  sub- 
division that  the  word  belongvS  to ;  and  the  inflexional 
changes  it  exhibits. 

It  is  necessary  even  for  this  limited  purpose  to  understand 
.the  syntax  of  the  sentence,  for  we  must  often  treat  a  phrase  of 
;two  or  more  words  as  grammatically  one.  Moreover,  we  must 
,  determine  the  part  of  speech  according  to  the  actual  function  of 
:  the  word  in  each  case  ;  seeing  that  the  same  word  falls  under 
'  different  parts  of  speech  at  different  times.  We  shall  take  as  an 
example  the  following  passage  from  Milton  : — 

•  Far  less  abhorred  than  these 
Vex'd  Scylla,  bathing  in  the  sea  that  parts 
Calabria  from  the  hoarse  Trinacrian  shore.' 

1  Far '  ;  an  adv.  of  degree,  modifying  '  leAs '. 

'  Less  '  ;  adv.  of  degree,  comparative,  modifying  '  abhorred '. 
Not  in  usual  compar.  form,  the  -r  ending  being  assimilated  to 
the  final  consonant  of  the  positive  (Joes). 

'  Abhorred '  :  adj.  of  quality  (derived  from  past  participle  of 
verb  '  abhor  ')  ;  limits  '  hell-fcounds  ',  understood. 

'  Than '  :  adv.  of  degree,  comparative,  modifying  a  verb 
understood  '  were  abhorred ',  the  completion  of  the  clause 
commencing  with  '  these '.  (The  whole  «lause — i  than  these 


PARSING  FOR  PARTS  OF  SPEECH.        341 

(Ml-hounds)  were  abhorred  ' — is  equivalent  to  an  adv.  of  degree, 
modifying  '  less  '.) 

'These':  adj.,  pronominal,  demonstrative;  plural;  limits 
'hell-hounds',  understood.  Or,  pronoun,  demonstr.  ;  plur. ; 
having  for  its  antecedent  (or  pointing  to)  '  hell-hounds '. 

'  Vex'd '  :  verb  transitive  ;  active  voice,  indicative  mood,  past 
indefinite  tense,  third  person,  plural  number  ;  subject,  '  hell- 
hounds ',  understood  after  '  abhorred '. 

'  Scylla ' :  noun,  proper,  singular,  meaningless  ;  or  simply 
proper)*  ;  feminine  ;  the  object  of  the  verb  '  vexed  '. 

'  Bathing '  :  verb,  intransitive  ;  (imperfect  or  incomplete) 
participle  ;  subject,  '  Scylla  '  ;  co-ordinating  use. 

'  In  ' :  preposition,  place,  rest  in  ;  placed  before  '  sea  '  to 
mark  the  relation  between  '  sea '  and  '  Scylla  bathing '  (or 
joined  with  '  sea '  to  make  up  an  advl.  phrase  modifying 
'bathing'.) 

'The  '  :  adj.,  pronoml.,  demonstr.,  (usually  called  the  definite 
article)  ;  limits  'sea'.  (The  complete  limitation  is  given  by 
the  expression — 'that  parts  .  .  .  shore' — adj.  clause  re- 
strictive. ) 

'  Sea ' :  noun,  general  and  significant  (or  simply  general,  or 
common),*  connected  with  '  bathing  '  by  '  in  '  (or  taken  with 
'in  '  to  make  up  a  phr. — as  above.) 

'  That '  :  pron.  relative,  restrictive  ;  arltecedent  '  sea ' ; 
subject  to  the  verb  '  parts  '. 

'  Parts  '  :  verb,  transitive,  predicate  to  '  that ' ;  act.  voice, 
indie,  mood,  pres.  indef.  tense,  sing,  number,  3rd  person. 

'  Calabria  '  :  noun,  proper  ;*  object  to  '  parts ' . 

'  From '  :  preposition  (one  of  the  case  prepositions),  place, 
motion  with  direction  ;  placed  before  '  shore '  to  mark  the  re- 
lation between  'shore 'and  'parts'  (or  joined  with  'shore'  to 
to  make  up  an  advl.  phr.  of  place,  motion  with  direction,  modi- 
fying 'parts'). 

'  The  '  (as  above)  ;  limits  '  shore '. 

'  Hoarse  ' :  adj.  of  quality  ;  qualifies  '  shore  '.     Co-ordinating. 

'  Trinacrian '  :  adj.  derived  from  a  proper  name ;  limits 
'  shore  '. 

*  It  would  be  too  much  trouble  to  keep  up  the  full  distinctions  on  all 
occasions,  and  I  should  therefore  propose  that  when  a  noun  is  a  proper 
(or  meaningless)  name,  and  also  the  name  of  one  object,  it  should  simply 
be  called  '  proper '  ;  as  the  names  that  are  proper  and  not  singular  are  the 
exception,  and  may  be  noted  when  they  occur.  The  significant  nouns 
are  nearly  all '  general ',  and  might  be  parsed  as  '  general ',  (or  if  preferred 
'  common  '),  and  therefore  '  general '  or  '  common  '  might  be  held  to  mean 
'  general  and  significant ',  unless  the  contrary  be  stated.  The  parsing  of. 
nouns  would  thus  continue  as  at  present,  except  that  when  such  a  word 
as  the  '  Browns '  or  the  '  Jameses '  occurred,  it  would  be  stated  as  '  proper 
and  common  ' ;  and  when  '  Providence '  or  '  the  emperor  '  occurred,  it 
would  be  stated  as  '  singular  and  significant '. 


342  PARSING. 

'Shore':  noun,  general  (or  common)  ;*  taken  with  'from*. 
(The  combination  '  the  Trinacrian  shore  '  constitutes  a  singular 
name,  partly  significant  and  partly  proper.) 

II.  Parsing  for  Derivation.    This  consists  of  two  parts ; 

first,  assigning  the  source  of  each  word,  as  '  Native  ',  'French', 
&c.  ;  and  secondly,  giving  account  of  its  composition  when  it  is 
a  compound  word. 

The  rules  and  lists  given  under  DERIVATION— Sources  of 
Words,  together  with  the  lists  given  in  the  Appendix,  are 
intended  to  afford  the  means  of  determining  the  etymological 
origin  of  all  our  words.  The  rules  to  be  absolutely  relied  on 
are  those  in  sections  28,  29,  32,  33.  It  is  to  be  seen  first 
whether  a  word  belongs  to  the  parts  of  speech,  &c.,  that  are  of 
home  origin  (28,  29).  If  this  is  not  decisive,  the  rules  relating 
to  the  number  of  syllables  (32,  33)  are  to  be  referred  to,  together 
with  the  lists  of  exceptions. 

The  pupil  should  gradually  master  all  the  smaller  lists  of  the 
languages  given  in  the  text— Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese, 
Arabic,  &c.  He  should  also  master  the  native  words  of  more 
than  one  syllable,  of  which  a  tolerably  complete  enumeration  is 
given  in  the  account  of  the  things  named  from  native  sources ; 
in  which  account  the  examples  are  purposely  drawn  from  dis- 
syllable words.  When  a  word  of  more  than  one  syllable  occurs, 


'form  that  we  are  to  deal  with  according  to  the  rules  (32,  33.) 
The  question  will  then  be  decided  by  a  reference  to  the  lists  in 
the  Appendix.  The  first  of  these  lists— the  Celtic,  might  be 
readily  mastered  ;  the  Scandinavian  list  is  somewhat  longer, 
but  if  the  pupil  were  familiar  with  it  likewise,  the  actual  refer- 
ence would  be  confined  to  two  lists— the  other  Teutonic  words 
and  the  list  of  classical  monosyllables.  A  key  is  thereby 
ifurnished  to  the  sources  of  the  language,  upon  a  plan  preferable 
to  the  use  of  the  dictionary,  as  it  deals  with  classes  and  not 
with  individuals,  and  renders  it  possible  ultimately  to  master 
the  entire  language. 

The  rules  drawn  from  the  endings  and  prefixes  (30,  31)  are 
very  useful  for  giving  the  probable  origin  of  words  at  the  first 
glance ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  great  number  of  hybrids,  of 
which  no  complete  list  has  been  made,  they  are  not  the  rules 
that  are  depended  on.  In  distinguishing  between  a  Latinized 
and  an  English  style  generally,  they  are  a  tolerably  safe  guide. 

If  pupils  have  been  disciplined  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Saxon 
•  roots,  or  if  they  have  made  some  progress  in  Latin  and  Greek, 
.or  in  French,  they  will  have  an  additional  means  of  discrimiua- 


FOR   DERIVATION    AND    FOR   SYNTAX.  343 

ting  the  sources  of  our  vocabulary ;  and  the  teacher  will  then 
appeal  to  this  part  of  their  knowledge  in  parsing  for  derivation. 

The  other  exercise  under  Derivation  consists  in  reducing 
words  that  are  not  simple  to  their  simple  elements.  Thus 
'  greatness  '  is  made  up  of  the  adjective  '  great '  and  the  suffix 
'  ness ' ;  '  embitter  '  is  the  adjective  '  bitter  '  combined  with  the 
prefix  '  em  ',  which  is  employed  to  convert  adjectives  into  verbs, 
with  the  meaning  of  'to  make';  'powder-horn'  is  a  compound 
word  made  up  of  two  nouns. 

III.  Parsing  for  Syntax.  The  analysis  of  sentences  has 
been  sufficiently  exemplified.  There  remains  only  the  illustra- 
tion of  the  rules  of  Concord,  Government,  and  Order,  as  given 
under  those  several  heads.  Numerous  examples  of  detailed 
parsing  for  Syntax  are  given  in  the  Key  to  First  English  Gram- 
mar, pp.  157-186. 

EXAMPLES  OF  ERRORS, 

AND  OF  INFERIOR,  AMBIGUOUS,  OR  PECULIAR  FORMS. 

(The  arrangement  is  designedly  made  ynwniscuous. ) 

The  separation  did  not  take  place  till  after  the  language  had  attained 
the  ripeness  of  maturity. 

The  Church  has,  through  its  Committee  on  Education,  in  their  last 
report,  recommended  a  more  liberal  endowment,  so  that  we  have  now 
reason  to  count  upon  their  cordial  co-operation. 

What  is  the  reason  that  our  language  is  less  refined  than  those  of  Italy, 
Spain,  or  France  ? 

Prompted  by  the  most  extreme  vanity,  he  persisted  in  the  writing  bad 
verses. 

By  letters,  dated  the  third  of  May,  we  learn  that  the  West  India  fleet 
arrived  safely. 

If  I  want  skill  or  force  to  restrain  the  beast  that  I  ride  upon,  though  I 
bought  it  and  call  it  my  own  ;  yet,  in  the  truth  of  the  matter,  I  am  at 
that  time  rather  his  man  than  he  my  horse. 

This  great  philosopher,  with  whom  I  am  always  unwilling  to  differ, 
refers,  <fec. 

It  is  not  so  unwieldy  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the 
complex  mechanism  of  double  elections. 

A  history  now  by  a  Mr.  Hume,  or  a  poem  by  a  Mr.  Pope,  would  be 
examined  with  different  eyes  than  had  they  borne  any  other  name. 

One  species  of  bread,  of  coarse  quality,  was  only  allowed  to  be  baked. 

The  party  whom  he  invited  was  very  numerous. 

The  Duke  of  Manchester  died  at  Rome  on  the  18th  of  March,  1843. 
His  grace  in  1793  married  the  daughter  of  the  late  Duke  of  Gordon,  and 
was  71  years  of  age. 

There  is  not  a  girl  in  town,  but  lecher  have  her  will,  in  going  to  a 
mask,  and  she  shall  dress  like  a  shepherdess. 

It  is  now  about  four  hundred  years  since  the  art  of  multiplying  books 
has  been  discovered. 

An  officer  on  European  and  on  Indian  service  are  in  very  different 
situations. 

For  I  remember  that  among  your  ancient  authors,  not  only  all  kings, 
but  even  Jupiter  himself  is  so  termed. 


344  EXAMPLES    OF   ERRORS, 

My  old  friend,  after  having  seated  himself,  and  trimmed  the  boat  with 
his  coachman,  who,  being  a  very  sober  man,  always  serves  for  ballast  on 
these  occasions,  we  made  the  best  of  our  way  to  Fox-hall. 

Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blest. 

Indeed,  were  we  to  judge  of  German  reading  habits  from  these  volumes 
of  ours,  we  should  draw  quite  a  different  conclusion  to  Paul's. 

1  know  no  duty  in  religion  more  generally  agreed  on,  nor  more  justly 
required  by  God. 

The  doctor;  in  his  lecture,  said  that  fever  always  produced  thirst. 

Alarmed  by  so  unusual  an  occurrence,  it  was  resolved  to  postpone  then- 
departure. 

The  Annals  of  Florence  are  a  most  imposing  work. 

Without  having  attended  to  this,  we  will  be  at  loss  in  understanding 
several  passages  in  the  classics. 

They  have  no  other  standard  on  which  to  form  themselves,  except  what 
chances  to  be  fashionable. 

The  Earl  of  Huntly,  conformable  to  the  crafty  policy  which  dis- 
tinguishes his  character,  amused  the  leaders  of  the  congregation. 

Luxuriance  of  ornament  and  the  fondness  for  point  are  certain  indica- 
tions of  the  decline  of  good  taste. 

Such  expressions  sound  harshly. 

To  engage  a  private  tutor  for  a  single  pupil,  is ,  perhaps  of  all  others, 
the  least  eligible  mode  of  giving  literary  instruction. 

lu  every  ward  one  of  the  king's  council  took  every  man's  book,  and 
sealed  them,  and  brought  them  to  Guildhall  to  confront  them  with  the 
original. 

This  diffused  a  secret  joy  through  the  whole  assembly,  which  showed 
itself  in  every  look  and  feature. 

They  introduced  the  taste  of  science  and  religion  which  distinguished 
Medina  as  the  city  of  the  book. 

What  can  be  the  cause  of  the  parliament  neglecting  so  important  a 
business  ? 

Hobbes  ia  probably  the  first  of  whom  we  can  say  he  is  a  good  English 
writer. 

The  atrocious  crime  of  being  a  young  man,  I  shall  neither  attempt  to 
palliate  nor  deny. 

The  Royal  Family  takes  rank  before  the  Peers  of  the  realm. 

Politics  are  too  strong  for  the  schools  and  give  them  their  bias. 

Either  you  or  I  are  in  the  wrong. 

You  seem  neither  to  care  for  yourself  nor  for  any  one  else  after  what 
you  have  lost. 

On  either  side  of  the  river  was  there  the  tree  of  life. 

If  a  stranger  should  hear  these  furious  outcries  of  ingratitude  against 
our  general,  he  would  be  apt  to  inquire. 

I  have  lost  the  game,  thoiigh  I  thought  I  should  have  won  it. 

Let  the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honour, 
especially  they  who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine. 

He  would  not  be  persuaded  but  what  I  was  greatly  in  fault. 

I  do  not  think  that  leisure  of  life  and  tranquillity  of  mind,  which 
fortune  and  your  own  wisdom  has  given  you,  could  be  better  employed. 

It  is  a  long*  time  since  I  have  been  devoted  to  your  interest. 

Give  me  it. 

This  haughty  and  imperious  style  sounded  harshly  to  Scottish  nobles, 
impatient  of  the  slightest  apppearance  of  injury. 

The  family  with  whom  I  have  long  lived  in  intimacy  is  gone  to  the 
country. 

That  is  seldom  or  ever  the  case. 

The  fact  of  ine  being  a  stranger  to  him  does  not  justify  his  conduct. 

It  is  one  of  the  mcst  satisfactory  and  valuable  emendations  which  has 
ever  been  made. 


AND  OF  INFERIOR  OR  PECULIAR  FORMS.    345 

Accordingly  on  their  approaching  they  were  refused  admittance  within, 
and  were  violently  and  unceremoniously  driven  from  the  gates. 

Much  depends  on  this  rule  being  observed. 

The  salt-merchants,  the  grocers,  the  confectioners  conspired  together  to 
adulterate  the  articles  in  which  they  dealt  in  a  thousand  ways. 

Let  you  and  I  go  together. 

The  seeming  importance  given  to  every  part  of  female  dress,  each  of 
which  is  committed  to  the  care  of  a  different  sylph,  &c. 

It  is  more  good  to  fall  among  crows  than  flatterers,  for  these  only 
devour  the  dead,  those  the  living. 

Let  me  awake  the  king  of  Morven,  he  that  smiles  in  danger,  he  that  is 
like  the  sun  of  Heaven  rising  in  a  storm. 

But  I  will  doubtless  find  some  English  person  at  whom  to  make 
inquiries. 

The  Romans  had  no  other  subsistence  but  the  scanty  pillage  of  a  few 
farms. 

There  are  few  words  in  the  English  language  which  are  employed  in  a 
more  loose  and  uncircumscribed  sense  than  those  of  the  fancy  and  the 
imagination. 

The  light  must  not  be  suffered  to  conceal  from  us  the  real  standard,  by 
which  only  his  greatness  can  be  determined. 

We  were  no  sooner  come  to  the  Temple  stairs  but  we  were  surrounded 
with  a  crowd  of  watermen. 

The  inattention  to  altered  circumstances  is  a  fault  of  most  universal 
application  in  all  political  questions. 

This  is  a  question  which  we  ought  to  have  expected  to  have  found 
answered  in  the  '  Seventh  Report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Her  Majesty's 
Inland  Revenue '. 

Not  only  England,  but  all  Europe  was  in  a  blaze. 

At  present  the  trade  is  thought  to  be  in  a  depressed  state  if  less  than  a 
million  of  tons  are  produced  in  a  year. 

We  are  now  poor,  and  wisdom  bids  us  to  conform  to  our  humble  situa- 
tion. 

"Tis  resolved;  for  nature  pleads  that  he  should  only  rule  who  most 
resembles  me. 

I  could  heartily  wish  there  was  the  same  application  and  endeavours 
to  cultivate  and  improve  church  music,  as  have  been  lately  bestowed  ou 
that  of  the  stage. 

Men  were  no  sooner  settled  in  their  rights  to  their  possessions,  but 
there  was  a  third  order  proclaimed. 

If  we  look  within  the  rough  and  awkward  outside,  we  will  be  richly 
rewarded  by  its  perusal. 

In  constructing  and  depicting  of  characters,  Werner  indeed  is  little 
better  than  a  mannerist. 

He  has  eaten  no  bread  nor  drunk  no  water  these  two  days. 

But  they  kept  off  other  evils  which  would  have  been  worse. 
Just  to  thy  word,  in  every  thought  sincere  ; 
Who  knew  no  wish  but  what  the  world  might  hear. 

The  last  year  or  two  have  been  a  time  of  great  political  pressure  in 
Prussia. 

Opinions  are  apt  to  be  identified  with  set  forms  of  language,  which  to 
disturb  seems  to  destroy  the  opinions. 

He  frankly  confessed  that  the  state  of  the  reserves  were  not  satisfac- 
tory. 

Before  Hell's  gates  there  sat  on  either  sidya  formidable  shape. 

They  who  opulence  has  made  proud,  and  who  luxury  has  corrupted, 
cannot  relish  the  simple  pleasures  of  nature. 

Either  the  young  man  or  his  guardians  has  acted  improperly. 

None,  I  am  sure,  can  be  of  more  honour  to  God,  iior  of  more  ease  to 
ourselves. 


346  EXAMPLES   OF   ERRORS, 

In  the  Latin  language,  there  are  no  two  words  we  would  more  readily 
take  to  be  synonymous  than  a.mare  and  diigere. 

I  have  frequently  been  assured  by  great  ministers  that  politics  were 
nothing  but  common  sense. 

I  had  several  men  died  in  my  ship  of  yellow  fever. 

He  is  an  author  of  more  credit  than ,  or  any  other,  that  write  lives 

«D  hastily. 

He  or  you  are  in  the  wrong. 

During  the  last  century  no  prime  minister,  however  powerful,  has 
become  rich  in  office. 

The  following  treatise,  together  with  those  that  accompany  it,  were 
written  many  years  ago.  for  my  own  private  satisfaction. 

The  person  who  immediately  walked  before  him,  was  remarkable  for  an 
embroidered  garment,  who  not  being  well  acquainted  with  the  place,  was 
conducting  him  to  an  apartment  appointed  for  the  reception  of  fabulous 
heroes. 

He  addressed  several  exhortations  to  them  suitably  to  their  circum- 
stances. 

When  the  Emperor  Alexander  elevated  the  standard  of  the  cross,  he 
invoked  the  only  power  that  ever  has,  or  ever  will,  arrest  the  march  of 
temporal  revolution. 

I  do  not  question  but  they  have  done  what  is  usually  called  the  king's 
business. 

Can  parliament  be  so  dead  to  its  dignity  and  duty  as  to  give  then* 
support  to  measures  thus  intruded  and  forced  upon  them  ? 

The  duke  had  not  behaved  with  that  loyalty,  as  he  ought  to  have  done. 

II  tf  that  can  doubt  whether  he  be  anything  or  no,  I  speak  not  to. 

A  talent  of  this  kind  would,  perhaps,  prove  the  likeliest  of  any  other  to 
succeed. 

The  ends  of  a  divine  and  human  legislator  are  vastly  different. 

Be  not  too  tame  neither. 

The  ancestors  of  the  human  race  knew  poverty  in  a  partial  degree. 

He  was  scarce  gon<\  when  you  arrived. 

I  would  feel  myself  blighted  in  the  eyes  of  all  my  acquaintances,  I 
would  be  overpowered, by  the  feelings  of  my  own  disgrace. 

They  entreated  to  read  to  me,  and  bade  me  not  to  cry,  for  I  was  now 
too  old  to  weep. 

He  need  not  proceed  in  such  haste. 

On  your  conduct  at  this  moment  depends  the  colour  and  complexion 
of  their  destiny. 

One  day,  being  brought  before  the  king,  and  being  asked  whom  he  was, 
Diogenes  replied,  '  A  spy  on  your  cupidity  '. 

I,  that  did  never  weep,  now  melt  in  woe, 

I  must  confess,  after  having  surveyed  the  antiquities  about  Naples  and 
Rome,  I  cannot  but  think  that  our  admiration  of  them  does  not  so  much 
arise  out  of  their  greatness  as  uncommonness. 

Reconciliation  was  offered  on  conditions  as  moderate  as  was  consistent 
with  a  permanent  union. 

I  have  never  seen  Major  Cartwright,  much  less  enjoy  the  honour  of  his 
acquaintance. 

Sailing  up  the  river,  the  whole  town  may  be  seen. 

The  masterly  boldness  and  precision  of  his  outline,  which  astonish 
those  who  have  trodden  parts  of  the  same  field,  is  apt  to  escape  an  un- 
informed reader. 

It  makes  us  to  walk  warily. 

Neither  the  houses  nor  the  garden  were  sold. 

I  should  be  obliged  to  him,  if  he  will  gratify  me  in  that  particular. 

The  next  New  Year's  day,  I  shall  be  at  school  three  years. 

But  there  is  a  general  correctness  of  delineation  which  must  strike  the 
eye  at  once  of  any  person  slightly  experienced  in  geography. 


AND   OP   INFERIOR   OR   PECULIAR    FORMS.  347 

Both  of  the  scholars,  or  one  of  them  at  least,  were  present  at  the 
transaction. 

That  is  either  a  man  or  a  woman's  voice. 

Scarce  had  the  Spirit  of  Law*  made  its  appearance  than  it  was  attacked. 

He  comes  ;  nor  want  nor  cold  his  course  delay. 

He  lived  to  see  almost  all  the  great  principles  which  he  had  advocated 
not  merely  recognised,  but  a  commencement  made  in  carrying  them  into 
practice. 

The  rogue  and  fool  by  fits  is  fair  and  wise. 

In  these  rigid  opinions  the  whole  sectaries,  amidst  all  their  other 
differences,  unanimously  concurred. 

There  are  certain  things  that  not  only  can  not  be  done  by  force,  but 
the  employment  of  force  is  the  surest  way  to  prevent  them. 

Every  one  thought  to  have  his  special  views  attended  to. 

I  think  the  longest  times  of  our  worst  princes  scarce  saw  many  more 
executions  than  the  short  one  of  our  best  reformer. 

It  was  great  in  him  promoting  one  to  whom  he  had  done  some  wrong. 

If  you  were  here,  you  would  find  three  or  four  in  the  parlour,  after 
dinner,  whom  you  would  say,  passed  their  afternoons  very  agreeably. 

Whatever  would  prove  prejudicial  to  our  future  prosperity,  however 
enticing  it  may  seem  at  present,  we  must  resolutely  reject  it. 

Great  numbers  were  killed  on  either  side. 

They  here  began  to  breathe  a  delicious  kind  of  ether,  and  saw  all  the 
fields  about  them  covered  with  a  kind  of  purple  light,  that  made  them 
reflect  with  satisfaction  on  their  past  toils. 

Hence  he  considered  marriage  with  a  modern  political  economist,  as 
very  dangerous. 

Olympus  with  its  multitude  of  stately,  celestial  natures,  dwindle 
before  the  solitary,  immutable  throne  of  Jehovah. 

Mr.  Broadhurst  is  a  very  good  sort  of  man,  who  has  not  written  a  very 
bad  book  on  a  very  important  subject. 

That  opinion  is  too  universal  to  be  easily  corrected. 

The  temper,  as  well  as  knowledge,  of  a  modern  historian,  require  a 
more  sober  and  accurate  language 

Wherever  the  giant  came,  all  fell  before  him  ;  but  the  dwarf  had  like  to 
have  been  killed  more  than  once. 

Man,  though  he  has  great  variety  of  thoughts,  yet  they  are  all  withiu 
.  his  own  breast. 

Not  only  he  found  her  busy,  but  pleased  and  happy  even. 

This  is  wonderful  ridiculous  from  so  solid  an  orator. 

In  reality  more  than  one  principle  has  been  contended  for  at  one  time. 

The  first  thiug  impressed  on  us  from  our  earliest  infancy  is  that  events 
do  not  succeed  one  another  at  random,  but  with  a  certain  degree  of  order 
regularity,  and  connexion. 

He  thinks  that  He  will  soon  return. 

The  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides  were  explained  by  Newton. 

This  does  not  so  much  seem  to  be  owing  to  the  want  of  physical  powers, 
but  rather  to  the  absence  of  vehemence. 

Animal  spirits  such  as  belong  to  some  men  are  a  fortune  in  themselves. 

The  wealth  of  the  great  Audley  may  be  considered  as  the  cloudy 
medium  through  which  a  bright  genius  shone,  and  which,  had  it  been 
thrown  into  a  nobler  sphere  of  action,  the  greatness  would  have  been  less 
ambiguous. 

We  cannot  all  be  masters,  nor  all  masters  cannot  be  truly  followed. 

The  accuracy  and  clearness  of  the  sentence  depend  very  much  upon  the 
proper  and  determinate  use  of  the  relative,  so  that  it  may  readily  present 
its  antecedent  to  the  mind,  without  any  obscurity  or  ambiguity. 

Hoping  that  I  will  soon  hear  from  you,  believe  me  yours  truly. 

You  may  infuse  the  sentiment  by  a  ray  of  light,  no  thicker,  nor  one 
thousandth  part  BO  thick,  as  the  finest  needle. 


348          EXAMPLES  TO  BE  AMENDED. 

Some  persons  can  only  distinguish  black,  white,  and  grey. 

Domestic  society  is  the  seminary  of  social  affections,  where  the  first 
elements  arc  acquired  of  that  tenderness  and  humanity  which  cement 
mankind  together  ;  and  which,  were  they  entirely  extinguished,  the 
•whole  fabric  of  social  institutions  would  be  dissolved. 

We  would  be  greatly  mistaken  if  we  suppose  wealth  and  rank  exempt 
from  care  and  toil. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  a  government  can  only  be  called  democratic 
•where  a  majority  of  adults  are  sovereign. 

Some  persons  go  the  length  of  saying  that  nobody  ought  to  be  made  to 
do  what  he  dislikes. 

How  far  I  shall  be  found  to  possess  the  most  essential  attribute  of 
Poetry,  I  know  not. 

He  always  preferred  having  his  own  views  sustained  by  the  failure  of 
his  opponent's  arguments  than  by  the  success  of  his  own. 

The  articles  may  be  in  prose  or  verse. 

There  is  no  other  method  of  teaching  that  of  which  any  one  is  ignorant, 
but  by  means  of  something  already  known. 

Persons  have  been  known  to  take  a  fever  after  feeling  the  smell  of  an 
open  drain. 

Suppose  that,  as  a  punishment,  a  man  is  condemned  to  pjjt  his  finger 
after  two  days  into  the  flame  of  a  candle. 

Two  substantives,  when  they  come  together,  and  do  not  signify  tha 
same  thing,  the  former  must  be  in  the  genitive  case. 


349 


APPENDIX. 


I. — CELTIC   WORDS. 

(W.    Welsh,  G.  Gaelic,  I.  Irish.) 

[The  asterisk  signifies  that  the  word  is  not  confined  to  the  dialect 
specified.] 


Alpine.  G. 

Card.  G. 

Harlot.  W. 

Plight.  W. 

Bachelor.  W. 

Clan.  G. 

Havock.  W. 

Pour.  W. 

Bag.  G. 
Bald.  G. 

Clog.  G. 
Cloy.  G. 

Hilding.  W. 
Hog.  W. 

Pumpkin.  W. 
Put.  W. 

Balderdash.  W. 

Club.  W. 

Hover.  W. 

Quip.  W. 

Bard.  W. 

Cockle.  G. 

Ingle.  G. 

Rasher.  Cel. 

Barrack.  G. 

Coil.  G. 

Jerk.  W. 

Sham.  W. 

Basket.  W. 

Coke.  G. 

Jolt.  W. 

Size.  W.  (?)(glue)' 

Bastard.  W. 

Combe.  W. 

Kecks.  -Kecksy. 

Slab.  W. 

Batten.  G. 

Coot,  W. 

W. 

Soggy.  W. 

Bauble.  G. 

Crag.  G. 

Kid.  W.  (a  brush 

Solder.  W. 

Bay-tree.  W. 

Crockery.  W.* 

faggot). 

Spree. 

Beast.  G. 

Crone.  G.  (an  old 

Kilu.  W. 

Suet.  W. 

Beg.  G. 

woman.) 

Lick.  W.  (to  beat.) 

Tabard.  W. 

Bog.  G. 

Crowder.  W. 

Loop.  G. 

Tackle.  W. 

Boisterous.  W. 

Crown.  W. 
Cuddle.  W. 

Marigold.  W.*     ' 
Mine.  G. 

Tall.  W. 
Tanist.  G. 

Bole.  W. 

Curd.  W. 

Minnow.  G. 

Tankard.  G. 

Bonfire.  W. 

Cut.  W. 

Murle.  W. 

Tarrv.  W. 

Booth.  G. 

Dad.  W. 

Noggin.  G. 

Tether.  W. 

Bother.  I. 
Bott.  G. 

Dainty.  W. 
Dale.—  Dell.  W.* 

Pall,  (v.)  W. 
Pall,  (n.)  W. 

Tingle.  W. 
Toil.  W. 

Bourn.  G. 

Dandruff.  W. 

Pallet.  G. 

Toss.  W. 

Bragget.  W. 

Darnock.—  Dan- 

Paw.  W. 

Tuck.  W. 

Brake.  G.  (a  bit 

nock.  G. 

Peel.  W.  (a  small 

Wabble.  W. 

for  horses.) 

Decant.  G. 

fortress.) 

Waist.  W. 

Bran.  W.* 

Flannel.  W. 

Pellet.  W. 

Wanton.  W. 

Brand.  G. 

Flummery.  W. 

Perk.—  Pert.  W. 

Welf.  W. 

Buck.  G. 

Frith.   G.   (muir- 

Piggin.  G. 

Whiff.  W 

Bug.  W.faffhottJ 

landj 

Pike.  Bret.  (fish). 

Whim.  W. 

Burn,  (n.)  G. 

Geek.  G.  (to  toss 

Pikelet,  W. 

Whisky.  I. 

Buss.  G.  (a  kiss.) 

up  the  head.) 

Pin.  W. 

Wimble.  W. 

Button.  G.* 

Gown.  W. 

Plait.—  Pleat  W. 

Whip.  W. 

Cabin.  W. 

Grid-iron.  W. 

Plaid.  G. 

Wicket.  W. 

Calf  (of  the  leg.)  G. 

Gruel.  W. 

Plea,  W. 

Wire. 

Cant.  G. 

Gyves,  W.- 

350 


APPENDIX. 


II.— SCANDINAVIAN  WORDS. 
(I.  Icelandic,  D.  Danish,  N.  Norwegian,  S.  Swedish.) 


Arch.  I.  sly. 

Cucking-Stool.  I. 

Gizen.  N. 

Kindle.   I.  to  set 

A  wk.—  Awk- 

Culm. I. 

Glare.  N. 

fire  to. 

ward.  I. 

Dairy.-  Doy.  S. 

Glamour.  I. 

Kitten.—  Kitling 

Backgammon.  D. 

Dale.  -Dell.  L* 

Glede.  I.  (a  live 

—Kittle.  N. 

Ballast.  D. 

Dangle.  S.* 

coal.) 

Lam.     I.    (v.)   to 

Bark.  I. 

Dewlap.  D. 

Glidder.  D.  (slip- 

beat. 

Bark.  I.  (of  a  tree.) 
Bask.  I. 

Dilling.-Dill.  I. 
Dog.  I. 

Glop.—  Gloppen. 

Lawn.  N. 
Learn.  I.  (gleam). 

Beck.  I.  a  brook. 

Doggrel.  I. 

I 

Leg.  I. 

Beer.   D.   (a  pil- 

Dor.   I.   (v.)*   (to 

Glout.—  Gloat.  8. 

Levin.    X.  (light- 

low.) 

befool.) 

Gnash.  D. 

ning.) 

Bifberry.  D. 

Dowdy.  I. 
Draggle.  S. 

Grains.  D. 
The  Grains.  D.  (a 

Ling.    1.   (a  kind 
of  heath.) 

Bloat.—  Bloated. 

Drake.  S. 

harpoon.) 

Link.     I.    (1)    a 

—Bloater.  S. 

DrazeL  —  Drossel. 

Groin.  D. 

sausage;    (2)  a 

Blond.  I.* 

D. 

Grow.--D    (to  be 

joint  of  a  chain. 

Blunderbuss.  8. 

Dredge.—  Drizzle 

troubled.) 

Linstock.  S. 

Bound.—  Bo  wn. 

D. 

Grovel.  I. 

Loover.     I.  *     (a 

I. 

Drivel.  D.  and  I. 

Gull.  D.  a  dupe. 

chimney.) 

Box.  D.  (v.) 

Drub.  I. 

Gust.  I. 

Lout.  I.  (v.) 

Bulk.  D.    (cu  in 

Dug.  8. 

Haberdasher.  I. 

Low.  I.  ('lame.) 

bulkheads.) 

Dunch.     D.     (to 

Haggle.  I. 

Lurch.—  Lurk.  N 

Bunch.—  Bunk. 

thump.) 

Halse.  I.  to  salute. 

Mane.  I. 

—Bung.  I. 
Bush.—  Busk.  I. 

Dusky.  S. 
Ferly.  I.  (wonder.) 

Hamble.  —  Hatn- 
mel.  I.  (to  lame) 

Mare.  I.  (CM  night- 
mare.) 

Busk.  I.  (v.) 

Fettle.  I. 

Harrow.  D. 

Marram  I. 

Bustle.  I. 

Filly.  N. 

Haze.--Hazle.-N. 

Marrow.  I. 

Cackle.—  Gaggle. 
S.* 

Flit.  D. 
Flizz.  S. 

Hit.  I. 
Hoggins.  I. 

Maul.  I.  (v.) 
Mermaid.  (I.) 

Cade.  I.  (as  a  cade 
lamb.) 

Flounce.  S.  (v.) 
Flounder.  8. 

Hoity-toity.  8. 
Housel.  I. 

Midden.  I. 
Mire.  I. 

Cake.  8. 

Flume.  N. 

Hugger-mugger. 

Mitten.  N. 

Call  I. 

Fluster.  I 

8 

Morkin.     I.    car- 

Cast. I.  (».) 

Fog.  D.  mist. 

Hull.    N.   (v.)   to 

rion. 

Chamm.  — 

Fond.  I. 

coax. 

Mort.    I.   a  great 

Champ.  L 

Forse.  I.  (a  water- 

Inkling. L 

quantity. 

Champion.  L 

fall.) 

Jeer.  I. 

Moskered.    L  de- 

Chuckle. I. 

Freak.  I.  a  man. 

Jolly-boat.  D. 

cayed. 

Clear.  I. 

Freckle.  I. 

Kedge.  I.  (1)  an 

Muck.  N.  (dung.) 

Clump.  I. 

Frith.-  Firth.  L 

anchor  ;          (2) 

Mulled  ale.  I. 

Clumsy.  I. 
Cod.  I.  (a  husk.) 
Cock.  D.  (a  boat.) 

Froth.  I. 
Gaby.  D.  (a  titn- 
pleton. 

brisk. 
Kedge-belly.  I. 
Keelson.—  Kel- 

Nagging.— Nag- 
NarwhaL    I.    (the 

Callow.—  Colly.  I. 

G&g-tooth.  1. 

son.  D. 

sea-unicorn.) 

soot. 

Gain.  —  Gainly.  I. 

Keg.  N. 

Neive.  I. 

Cope.  I.  (v.) 
Cow.  D.  (v.) 

Gale.  I.  (v.) 
Gale.  N.  (n.) 

Kelter.  S.  (ready). 
Kenspeckle.  N. 

Niggard.  N. 
Nightingale.  I. 

Crank.     S.      (a.) 

Galley.  I. 

Kickle.  -Kittle. 

Nithing.  I.  (a  vile 

(nautical.) 

Gammon.  D.  (an 

N. 

fellow.) 

Crinkde.  D. 

exclamation.) 

Kid.    I.    a  young 

Oaf.  I.   a  simple- 

Cripple.  I. 

Gar.  I. 

goat. 

ton. 

Cross.  I.* 

Gauntlet.  S. 

Kid.  I.  at  in  kid- 

Odd. N. 

Crouch.  L 

Gat-toothed.  8. 

nap. 

Pawn.  L* 

Cub.  L 

Gill.  S.  (of  a  fish.) 

Kilt.  8. 

PeaL  L 

TEUTONIC   WORDS. 


351 


Pedigree.  I. 
Peevish.  D. 

Screak.  S. 
Scrip.  S. 

Slot.  I.  (the  track 
of  a  deer.) 

Stump.  D. 
Swig.  I. 

Pet.  S.  a  fit  of  dis- 

Scull. I.  (a  email 

Slug.  D. 

Switch.  S. 

pleasure. 

boat.) 

Smatter.  D, 

Tag. 

Pippin.  —  Pip.  D. 

Scat    I.    (o  short 

Smicker.  8. 

Tang.—  Tangle, 

Pod.  D. 

tail.) 

Smile.  S. 

S. 

Prog.  N.  (n.  and 

Shirt  D.                 i  Smug.  D.  (neat.) 

Tarn.  I. 

4 

Shriek.  S.                 Suare.  D. 

Thrive.  D. 

Tug-mill.  D. 

Shrill.  S.                  Sneap.—  Snub.  D. 

Thrum.  I. 

Pulse.  D.   a  tau- 

Silt  S.  mud.slime.    Snudge.  D. 

Thurs-t/ay.  D. 

sage. 

Skew.  D.                 iSnujf.  D. 

Tramp.  S. 

Rake.  D.  a  vicious 

Skip.  I. 

«l»irt  S. 

Trap.  S. 

man. 

Skit  I. 

Spoon.  I. 

Trigger.  D. 

Ransack.  S. 

Skirt.  D. 

Sprain.  S. 

Wail  I. 

Rate.  S.  to  chide. 

Skull.  I. 

Sprawl.  D. 

Warlock.  I. 

Root.  S. 

Skv.  S. 

Spud.  D. 

Weld.  S. 

Rove.  D. 

Slag.  D. 

Squall  S. 

Whim.  I. 

Scald.—  Scalder 

Slake.  L 

Squeak.  S. 

Whirl.  I. 

D. 

Slant  S. 

Squeal  S. 

Wicker.  D. 

Scant  I. 

Slash.  I. 

Stack.  D. 

Window.  D. 

Scare.  L 

Sleave.  I. 

Staff.  I.  a  stanza. 

Wing.  S. 

Score.  L 

Stumble.  I. 

Wisp.  8. 

III.  —  OTHEB  TEUTONIC  WORDS. 

(D.  Dutch,  G.  German,  F.  Flemish.) 

Average.  G. 

Bull.  G.  animal. 

Clamber.  G. 

Cricket.  D.  an  in- 

Awning. O. 

Bully.—  Bully- 

Clamp.  —  Clump. 

sect. 

Bad.  G. 

rook.  D. 

D. 

Crone.  D.  an  old 

Bamboozle.  D. 

Bulwark.  D.           Clang.  -Clank.  G. 
Bum.  —Boom.  —  Clash.  G. 

sheep. 
Cruise.  D. 

Bast.—  Bass.  D. 

Bump.  D.              Clatter.  D. 

Cudgel.  D. 

Begone.—  Woe-be- 

Bum-bailiff.  D. 

Click.—  Clicket. 

C-ir.  D. 

gont.  D. 

Bumpkin.  G.* 

D. 

Curl.  D. 

Belong.  D. 

Buoy.  D. 

Clench.—  Clinch. 

Cumber.  D. 

Bent.  G.  rutket. 
Bill.  D. 

Buskin.  D.» 
Bush.-BuaheI, 

D. 

Clink.  D. 

Damp.  G.  (n.  &v.) 
Dan  ale.  G. 

Blear.  G. 

D. 

Closhe.  D. 

Dank.  G. 

Blight.  G. 

Buss.  D.  a  vessel. 

Cloud.  D. 

Dapper.  D. 

Block.  D. 

Butter.—  Butter- 

Cobalt. G. 

Dare.  G.  to  be  ter- 

Bluff. D. 

fly.  G. 

Cockle.  D.  (v.) 

rified. 

Blunder.  D. 

Buttock.  D. 

Cocker.  D. 

Daunt. 

Boast.  G. 

Carouse.  G. 

Codger.  G. 

Decoy.  D. 

Boom.  D.  (n  ft  v.) 

Catkin.  D. 

Comber.  D.  . 

Deuce—  Dickens. 

Boor.  D. 

Caterpillar.  D. 

Coomb.  D.  ' 

G. 

Botch.  D.  (n.  <fe  v.) 

Chaff.  D.  (v.) 

Copes  -  man,      or 

De-w-berry.  G. 

Boult  —  Bolt.  G. 

Chaffer.  G.  (v.) 

-mate.  —  D. 

Didapper.    D.     a 

(v.) 

Cbaldern.-Chaw- 

Cotquean.  —  Q  uot- 

water  bird. 

Bounce.  D. 

dron.  G. 

quean.  D. 

Dock.    G.    (1)     a 

Boy.  G. 

Chap.  —  Chip.  — 

Cough.  D. 

bundle;     (2)    a 

Brabble.  D. 

Chop.  D.               Cower.  G. 

sluice. 

Brack.—  Braekish 
G. 

Charcoal.  D. 
Chimb.  D.  rim  qf 

Cramp.  D. 
Crank.  D. 

Dolley.  D. 
Doit.  D. 

Brandy.  G. 

a  rase. 

Craunch.  D., 

Dole.  G.  a  slip  of 

Brattice.—  Bar- 

Chink-Cough.    — 

Craw.  G.  Ihe+eck, 

pasture. 

tisan.  G. 

Chin-cough.  D. 

&c. 

Doll.  G. 

Buckwheat.  G. 

Chitter.  D. 

Crawl.  D. 

Dollar.  D. 

Buff.    G.    dull  of  Chitterling.  D. 
•  tolours,  &c.           Chub.  G. 

Creek.  D.  a  brook. 
Crewel.  G.  . 

Dot  D. 
Dote.  D. 

352 


APPENDIX. 


Dotterel  D.          1  Glance.  D. 

Huckle-fcone. 

Loiter.  D. 

Down.       G.       a 

Glaver.  D.  (v.) 

Huckster.  G. 

Lombard-A<m«. 

thistle-down. 

Glib.  D. 

Hurst.  D. 

D. 

Drabble.  D. 

Glimmer.  G. 

Husk.  D. 

Loof.  D. 

Dragoon.  D. 

Goit.  —  Gote.  — 

Hustle.  D. 

Lop.  G. 

Drake.  —  Drawk 

Gowt.  D.  a 

Hut.  D. 

Loon.  —  Lown.  D. 

D. 

sluice,  &c. 

Ingot.  G. 

Loop-hole.  D. 

Drape-sheep.  D. 

Gooseberry.  G. 

Interloper.  D. 

Loover.  D. 

Drawl.  D. 

Graves.  --Graving 

Isinglass.  G. 

Lour.  G. 

Dream.  G.  or  D. 

dock.  G. 

Jerkin.  D. 

Lout.  D. 

Dredge.  D.  an  an 

Groat.  G. 

Jib.  D.  (v.) 

Lukewarm.  G. 

chor. 

Groom.  D. 

Raw.—  Keck.  G. 

Lusk.   G.  a  slug, 

Dretch.  G 

Grout.  D. 

Kebbers.  D. 

&c. 

Drill.  G.  a  kind  of 

Grub.  D.  (v.) 

Keel.—  Kayle.  G. 

Mangle.  G.  (n.  & 

doth. 

Guess.  D. 

Kemlin.  —  Kem- 

v.) 

Drowsy.  D. 

Guile.  D. 

nel.  D. 

Marl.  D. 

Duck.  D.  (v.  &n. 

Haberdine.  D. 

Kerb.  G. 

Mask.  D. 

Dumps.  D. 

Hackbut.  D. 

Kilderkin.  D. 

Maulstick.  G. 

Ember-day*.  G. 

Hale.  -HauL  G, 

Kink.  D.  a  twist. 

Mauther.  D. 

Etch.  G. 

Halibut.  D. 

Kit.  D.  (I)  a  pail; 

Mazer.  G. 

Fade.  D. 

Halloo.  G. 

(2)  a  brood. 

Mazzard.  G. 

Felspar.  G. 

Halm.  —  Ha  win. 

Knap.  G.  or  D. 

Measles.  D. 

Fetlock.  D. 

G. 

Knapsack.    G.    or 

Mellow.  G. 

Fey.  G. 

Halse.   D.   to  em 

D 

Menild.-  Meanel- 

Filberd.  G. 

brace. 

Lack.  D.  want. 

led.  G.  speckled. 

Fimble.  G. 

Halse.  —  Hawse. 

Lane.  D. 

Mew.  G. 

Fine.  G. 

G.  the  neck. 

Landgrave.  G. 

Miff.   G.    ill-hum- 

Finical.  —Fini- 

Hamper. D. 

Larboard.  D. 

our. 

kin.  D. 

Hank.  G. 

Larrup.  D. 

Mizzle.  D.  to  rain 

Fir.  G. 

Hantle.  G. 

Lash.  D.  to  bind. 

fine. 

Flaik.  D. 

Elap.  —Happy.  — 

Lass.  G. 

Mob-cap.  D. 

Flail.  G. 

Happen.  D. 

Lath.  G.  orD.* 

Mole.   —    Mould- 

Fleech.  G. 

Harsh.  G. 

^ary.  D. 

warp.  G. 

Flew.  G.    (1)  ten- 

Hatch. G.  (said  of 

^eaguer.  D.  a  ly- 

Hoor. D.  (v.) 

der;  (2)  shallow. 

birds). 

ing,  &c. 

More.  G.  root  of  a 

Flew-net.  D. 

Hatch.  D.  to  fas- 

jeaguer.     G.      a 

tree,  &c. 

Flews.  G. 

ten. 

small  cask. 

Moult.  D. 

Flook.  G. 

Hackle.  -Heckle. 

Leak.  D. 

Mud.  G. 

Flunkey.  G. 

D. 

Leak  (of  a  mill.')  Muff.  D.  a  fool. 

Flush.  G.  immedi- 

launch.  G. 

G. 

Mug.  G.  an  earth- 

' ate. 

3eyday.  G. 

^edger.  D. 

en  pot. 

Flutter.  G. 

ligler.-  Higgle. 

jeet.    D.    a  pea- 

Mulberry. G. 

Fob.  G.  (v.) 

D. 

sant  tenant. 

Mullock.   D.  rub- 

Fog.  G.  (v.) 

imd-berry.  G. 

Left.  D. 

bish. 

Fou.  G. 

Hob.  D. 

jess.  G.  termina- 

Mum. G.  beer. 

Fc.rd.  G. 

lobbedehoy.  D. 

tion. 

Mumps.  G. 

Forge  on.  D. 

locus  -  pocus.  — 

vessel.  G.  a  por- 

Musty. G. 

Fraught.  G. 

Hoax.  D. 

tico. 

Nick.  G.  Old  Nick. 

Furlough.  D. 

loddipeak.  D. 

Bights.  G. 

Nick.    G.     as    in 

Gain.  G.  (in  com- 

lodge-podge. D. 

Lime.  G.   a  lime- 

nick-name. 

position) 

Hoe.  D. 

tree. 

Nickel.  G. 

Gallipot.  D. 

Jog.  —  Hoggel.  — 

jinen.  G. 

Nozzle.  G. 

Garden  G. 

Hoggrel.  D. 

Line.  G.  (v.) 

Nudge.  G. 

Gas.  D. 

logshead.  D. 

Ling.    D.    a  cod-  Oast,  D.  a  kiln. 

Gash.  G.  to  cut. 

Hoyden.  D. 

fish. 

Offal.  G. 

Geek.  D.  to  sport, 

Hoop.  D. 

jink.  D.  a  torch. 

Ogle.  G.  D.  ? 

deride,  &c. 

Hop.  G. 

jitmus.  D. 

Pack.  G. 

Gherkin.  G. 

Howlet.  D. 

oafer.  G. 

Palin.  G.  tree. 

Gibbet.  D. 

Hoy.  D. 

obby.  G. 

Pay.    D.   to  daub 

Girl.  G. 

Huckle-&a<:ied.  D. 

og.  D. 

with  pitch. 

TEUTONIC    WORDS. 


353 


Pea-jacket.  D. 

Roe.  G.                     Sleek.  G. 

Strive.  D. 

Peer.  G.  (v.) 

Rouse.  G.  a  bum-  Sleight.    G. 

Strut.  G. 

Pet.  D. 

•per.                       \  Slender.  D. 

Stubble.  G. 

Pew.  D. 

Rout.   G. 

Slice.  G. 

Stuff.  G. 

Pickle.  D. 

Rub.  G. 

Slight.  G. 

Sturdy.  G. 

Piddle.  G. 

Rudder.  G. 

Slim.  G. 

Stutter.  G. 

Pig.  D.  (1)  animal 

ttuifle.  D. 

Sloop.  D. 

Sutler.  D. 

(2)  iron. 

Rumble.  G. 

Slottery.  G. 

Swash.  D. 

Pinfold.—  Piiidar. 

Rummer.     D.     a 

squalid. 

Sway.  D. 

D. 

large  (/lass. 

Sloven.  D. 

Swerve.  D. 

Pip.  G. 

Rump.  G. 

Slubber.  G. 

Swindle.  D. 

Pismire.     D.     the 

Runt.  D. 

Sluice.  D. 

Tafferel.  D. 

ant. 

Rutter.  D.  o 

Slur.  D, 

Talc.-  Talk.  G.  a 

Platform.  D. 

trooper. 

Slut.  D. 

mineral. 

Plash.  G. 

Sable.  G. 

Smalt.  D. 

Tallow.  G. 

Plight.  O. 
Plough.  G. 

Sasse.  D.  a  sluice. 
Scallop.  D. 

Smelt.   D.  (v.) 
Smuggle.  G. 

Tattle.  D. 
Teal.  D. 

Plug.  D. 

Sculp.   D. 

Snack.  D. 

Thrack.  G.  to  load. 

Ply.  G. 
Poll.  -Pollard.  D. 

Scamble.  D. 
Scamper  D. 

Snaffle.  D. 
Snap.  D. 

Tick.  D.  (n.  &  v.) 
Tight.  G. 

Porthole.  G. 

Schooner.  D. 

Snarl.  G. 

Tip.  D. 

Frank.  —  Prance. 

Scold.  D. 

Snast.  G, 

Touse.  G.  to  pull. 

G. 

Sconce.  G. 

Snatch.  D. 

Toy.  D. 

Prime.  D.  (v.) 

Scoop.  D. 

Sniff.  D. 

Trail.  D. 

Prim.  D.  (t>.) 

Scowl.     G. 

Snip.  D. 

Trifle.  D. 

Prop   D. 
Pudgv.  G. 

Scrabble.  D. 
Scramble.  D. 

Snipe.  D. 
Snort.  D. 

Trip.  D. 
Troll.  G.  to  roll. 

Puke."  G. 

Scratch.  G. 

Snout.  G. 

Trollop.  G. 

Punt.  D. 

Screw.  D. 

Snub.  D. 

Trull.  G. 

Purblind.  D. 

Scrub.  G. 

Snuff.  D. 

Tub.  D. 

Purl.  D.  (v.) 

Sculk.  D. 

Sod.  D. 

Twinge.  D. 

Quack.  G, 

Scum.  G. 

Sop.  D. 

Twirl.  D. 

Quarto,  G. 

Seem.  G. 

Souse.  G. 

Twist.  D. 

Queer.  G. 

Shalm.—  Shawm. 

Spang.  G. 

Twitter.  D. 

Quoit  D. 

G.     a     musical 

Spite.  D. 

Uproar.  D. 

Rabbit.  D. 

pipe. 

Splice.  D. 

Vampire.  G. 

Race.  D. 

Shatter.  D. 

Splinter.   D. 

Vane.  D. 

Raff.  G. 

Shingle.  G. 

Split.  1). 

Veneer.  G. 

Rail.   G.   an  iron 

Shive.  D.  a  slice. 

Sport.  G.  (?) 

Wad.  G. 

bar. 

Shore.  D. 

Spot.  D. 

Wafer.  D. 

Rail.  D.  to  mock: 

Shrimp.  G. 

Spout.  D. 

Wage.  G. 

Ramble.  D. 

Shudder.  G. 

Sprat.  D. 

Wainscot.   D. 

Rant.  D. 

Shy.  G. 

Squander.  G. 

Waltz.  G. 

Rash.  D. 

Simnel.  G.  a,  cake. 

Squint.  D. 

Wamble.  D. 

Rattle.  D. 

Skate.  D.  ice  shoe. 

Stadholder.  D. 

Wand.  D. 

Rave.  D. 

Skellum.  G. 

Stagger.   D. 

Warble.  G. 

Havel.  U. 

Skiff.  G. 

Stamp.  D. 

Wee.  G. 

Reef.  D.  (nautical 

Skim.  G. 

Start.  D. 

Whelp.  D. 

term). 

Skipper.  D. 

Steep.  G. 

Whimper.  G. 

Reef.    G.   a  chain 

Slabber.  G. 

Stilt.  D. 

Whisk.  G. 

of  wci*. 

Slap.  G. 

Stiver.  D. 

Wreck.  D. 

Revel.  D. 

Slatter.  G. 

Stop.  D. 

Wriggle.  D. 

Riff-raff.  G. 

Slave.  G. 

Stout.  D. 

Yacht.  D. 

Rifle.  G. 

Slaver.  G. 

Strip.  D. 

Zinc.  Q. 

Rob.  G. 

Sled.—  Sledge.  D. 

354 


APPEXDIX. 


IV. — MONOSYLLABLES   OF    CLASSICAL    ORIGIN. 

(F.  FrencJi,  G.  Greek,  I.  Italian,  L.  Latin,  S.  Spanish). 


Ace.  F. 

Brach.   F. 

Cede.  L. 

Coil.  F.  L. 

Act.  L. 

Bract.  L. 

Cell  L. 

Coin.   F. 

Add.  L. 

Branch.  F. 

Cent.  F. 

Cone.  F.  L.  G. 

Age.  L. 

Brave.  F. 

Cere.  L. 

Cook.  L. 

Aim.  F. 

Beam.  F. 

Cess(pool).  L. 

Coop.  L. 

Air.  L. 

Bre*>ze,  F. 

Chafe.  F. 

Copse.  F.  G. 

Aisle.  F. 

Breve.  I. 

Chain.  L. 

Cord.  G. 

Alb.  L. 

Bribe.  F. 

Chair.  F. 

Core.  L. 

Apse.  L.  G. 

Brick.  F. 

Chaise.  F. 

Cork.  S. 

Apt.  L. 

Brief.   F. 

Chance.  F. 

Corps.  F. 

Arc.  L. 

Brisk.  F. 

Change.   F. 

Corpse.  F.  L. 

Arch.  L. 

Broach.  F. 

Chant.  F. 

Cost.  F.  L. 

Arch(c/ne/>.  G. 

Broil.  F. 

Chape.  S. 

Couch.  F. 

Art.  L. 

Bronze.  F.  I. 

Char  (burn).  F. 

Count.  F. 

Asp.  L. 

Brooch.  F. 

Charge.  F. 

Course.  L. 

Aunt.  L. 

Browse.  F. 

Charm.  F. 

Coy.  F.  L. 

Bail.  F. 

Bruit,  F. 

Chart.  L. 

Crab  (windlass).  S. 

Bale  (bundle).  F. 

Brush.   F.  I. 

Chase.  F. 

Crack.  F. 

Bale  (?'.).  F. 

Brusque.  F. 

Chasm.  G. 

Crape.   F. 

Ball  (round  boily  ; 

Brute.  F. 

Chaste.  L. 

Crass.  L. 

dance).  F. 

Budge.  F. 

Cheat.  F. 

(  ratch.  L. 

Balm.  F. 

Bulb.  L. 

Check.  F. 

Crate.  I.  L. 

Bar.   F. 

Bull.     L.    (Pipe's 

Cheer.   F. 

Craze.  F. 

Barb.  F. 

edict). 

Chief.  F. 

Cream.  F. 

Jiarge.  F. 

Bun.  F. 

Chine.  F. 

Creed.  L. 

Barque.  F. 

Bur.  F. 

Choir.  F. 

Crest.  L. 

Base.  F. 

Burr.  F. 

Chord.  G. 

Crime.  L. 

Band.  F. 

Bust.  F. 

Chrism.  G. 

Crisp.  L. 

Bass.  I. 

Butt.  F.  I. 

Christ.  G. 

Croak.  L. 

Bay.  F. 

Buzz.  I. 

Chrome.  G. 

Cross.  I.  F.  L. 

Beak.  F. 

Cade.  L.  a  cask. 

Churn.  F.  (?). 

Crown.  F.  L. 

Beau.  F. 

Cage.  F. 

Chyle.  G. 

Crude.  L. 

Beef.  F. 

Calk.  L. 

Chyme.  G. 

Cruise.  L. 

Belle.  F. 

Call.  L. 

Cist.  L. 

Crase.  F. 

Em  (paper).  F. 

Calm.  F. 

Cives.  F. 

Crush.  F. 

Bice,  Bise.  F. 

Camp.  L. 

Clack.  F. 

Crust.  L. 

Bile,  L. 

Can.  (n.)L. 

Claim.  L. 

Crutch.  L. 

Blame.  F. 

Cane.  L. 

Clang.  G. 

Cry.   F.  L. 

Blanch.  F. 

ant   (talk    affec- 

Class. F.  L. 

Crvpt.  I.  G. 

Bland.  L. 

tedly).  L. 

Clause.  F.  L. 

Cue.  F. 

Blank.   F. 

Cant(^)-  F. 

Clef.   F. 

Cube.  F.  L.  G. 

Block.  F. 

Cape.  L.  I. 

Clime.  L.  G. 

Cuff.  I.  L.  G. 

Blonde.  F. 

Car.  L. 

Clique.  F. 

Cull.  F.  L. 

Blouse.  F. 

Card.  F. 

Cloak.  F. 

Culm.  L. 

Boil(>.).  L. 

Carp.  F. 

Close.  F.  L. 

Cup.  F.  L. 

Bomb.  F. 

arte.  F. 

Clove.  S.  F.  L. 

Curb.  F. 

Boon  (adj.).  L. 

Case.  F. 

Clown.  L. 

Cure.  L. 

Boot  (for  feet).  F. 

Cash.  F. 

Coach.  F. 

Curt.  L. 

Boss.   F. 

Cask.  F.  8 

Joarse.  L. 

Cusp.  L. 

Bound.      F.      (to 

Catch.  F.  I. 

Coast.  L. 

Cyst.  G. 

spring). 

Jaul,  cowl.  I.  L. 

Coat.  F. 

Dab.  F. 

Bowl.  F. 

Cause.  F. 

Cod(fish).  L. 

Dace  (/?.<$)  F. 

Box.  F.  (a  shrub). 

Cave.  F. 

•ode.  L. 

Dam.  F. 

Brace.  F. 

Cease.  L. 

Coif.  F. 

Dame.  F. 

CLASSICAL   MONOSYLLABLES. 


355 


Damn.  F.  L. 

Fence.  F. 

Fringe.  F. 

Grate.  I.  L.  (noun) 

Dance.  F. 

Fend.  L. 

Frizz.  F. 

Grate.  F.  (verb.) 

Dart.  F. 

Feud  (flef)-L. 

Frock.   F. 

Grave.  F. 

Date.  F.  L. 

Fib.  I.'L, 

i  rond.  L. 

Grease.  F. 

Daunt.  F.  L. 

Fief.  F. 

Front.  L. 

Gr«aves.  F. 

Dean.  F.  L. 

Fierce.  F. 

Frounce.  F. 

Grebe.  F. 

Debt.  L. 

Fife.  F. 

H  row  11.  F. 

Grief.  F. 

Deign.  F.  L. 

Fig.  L. 

Fruit.  L. 

Grill.  F. 

Dense.  L. 

File.  L. 

Fry.  F.  (cooking.) 

Grime.  I. 

Derm.  G. 

Fine.  F.  showy. 

Fry.  F.  spaum. 

Gross.  L. 

Deuce.  F. 

Fine.  L.  a  penalty. 

Fugue.  V. 

Grot.  F. 

Die.  (noun)  F.  L. 

Firm.  L. 

Fume.  L. 

Group.  F.  I. 

Dine.  F. 

Fisc.  L. 

Fund.  L 

Grudge.  F. 

Lire.  L. 

Fit      (attack      of 

Fur.  F. 

Grume.  F. 

Dirge.  L. 

pain)  I. 

Furl.  F. 

Guard.  F. 

Diso,  dish.  L.  G. 

Fit.  F. 

Fuse.  L. 

Guide.  F. 

Doge.  1.  L. 

Fitch.  L. 

Fust.  F. 

Guise.  F. 

Doit.  F.  L. 

Fix.  L. 

Gage.  F. 

Gules.  F. 

Dole.  L. 

Flail.  F.  L. 

Gain,  F. 

Gulf.  G. 

Dome.  L.  G.  • 

Flame.  L. 

Gall.*1,  (gall  nut.) 

Gum.  F.  L.  G. 

Don.  S.  L. 

Flank.  F. 

Gall.  F.  to  fret. 

Gurge.  L. 

Dose.  F.  G. 

Flask.  F. 

Gaol.  F.      ' 

Gust.  I.  L.  taste. 

Doubt.  F.  L. 

Fleam.  F.  G. 

Garb.  F. 

Gyre.  G. 

Douche.  F.  L. 

Flotch.  F. 

Gaud.  L. 

Hack.  F.  hackney. 

Drab  (doth)  F. 

Flock.   L.  a   lock 

Gauge.  F. 

Hash.  F. 

Drachm.  G. 

of  wool. 

Gauze.  F. 

Hatch.  F. 

Dram.  I.  G. 

Flog.  I,. 

Gay.  F. 

Haught.  F. 

Drape.  F. 

Floss.  I.  L. 

Gem.  F.  L. 

Haunch.  F. 

Dredge.  F. 

Flounce.  F.  L. 

Germ.  L. 

Hauut.  P. 

Dress.  F.  L. 

Flour.   F. 

Gest.  L. 

Hawse.  F. 

Droll.  F. 

Flue.  F.  L. 

Gig.  F. 

Hearse.  F. 

Drug.  F. 

Flute.  F.  I.  L. 

Gill.  L.  a  measure. 

Heir.  F. 

Drupe.  L.  G. 

Flux.  L. 

Gimp.  F. 

Herb.  L. 

Duct.  L. 

Foil.  F. 

Gist.  F. 

Host.  L.  landlord. 

Due.  F. 

Foil.  F.  leaf. 

Gland.  L. 

Host.    L.     (Rom. 

Duke.  F.  L. 

Foist.  F. 

Glave.  L. 

Cath.) 

Dupe.  F. 

Font.  L. 

Glean.  F. 

Host.  L.  (army.) 

Dure.  L. 

Fool.  F. 

Glebe.  L. 

Hour.  G. 

Ease.  F. 

Fop.  I.  L. 

Globe.  L. 

Hue.  F.  (Hue  and 

Err.  L. 

Force.  L. 

Gloss.  L.  G.  com- 

Cry.) 

Eyre.  F.  L. 

Forge.  F. 

ment. 

Hulk.  G. 

Face.  F.  L. 

Form.  F. 

Glue.  L. 

Hymn.  L.  G. 

Fact.  L. 

Fort.  F. 

Glume.  L. 

Ides.  L. 

Fail.  F.  L. 

Fosse.  L. 

Glut.  L. 

Ire.  L. 

Faint.    F. 

Found.       L.       in 

Glmph.  G. 

Isle.  F. 

Fair     (market) 

building. 

Gnome.  G. 

Jack.  F. 

F.  L. 

Found.  L.  to  cait. 

Goal.  F. 

Jade.  S. 

Faith.  F.  L. 

Fount.  L. 

Gob.  F. 

Jail.  F. 

False.  L. 

Fract.  L. 

Gorge.  F.  I.  L. 

Jamb.  F. 

Fame.  L. 

Frail.  F. 

Gouge.  F. 

Jaw.  F. 

Fane.  L. 

Frank.  F. 

Gourd.  F. 

Jay.  F. 

Farce.  F. 

Fraud.  L. 

Gout.  F. 

Jest.  L. 

Fate.  L. 

Fray.  F. 

Grace.  F.  L. 

Jet.  G. 

Fault.  F. 

Freak.  I. 

Grade.  L. 

Jet.  F. 

Faun.  L. 

Fret.   F.   interlac- 

Grail. F. 

Jig.  F. 

Fawn  (deer)  F. 

ing  bars,  &c. 

Grain.  L. 

Join.  L. 

Fay.  F. 

Fret.    F.    wire  on 

Grand.  L. 

Joke.  L. 

Feast.  F.  L. 

musical  instr. 

Grange.  F.  L. 

Jot.  G. 

Feat.  F.  L. 

Frieze.  F. 

Grant.  F. 

Joust.  P. 

Feign.  F.  L. 

Frill.  F. 

Grape.  F. 

Joy.  F. 

356 


APPENDIX. 


Judge.  L. 

Mask.  F. 

Noun.  L. 

Pile.  L.  an  arrow- 

Juice.  P. 

Mass.  L.  a  heap 

Nude.  L. 

head. 

June.  L. 

Mass.  L.  religious 

Null.  L. 

Pill.  L.  (n.) 

Just.  L. 

ceremony. 

Nun.  I. 

Pinch.  F. 

Ketch.  P. 

Match.  F. 

Nurse.  F. 

Pine.  L.  a  tree. 

Lace.  F. 

Mate.  F. 

Nymph.  G, 

Pint.  S. 

Lache.  F. 

Maund.  F. 

Ode.  G. 

Pip.  L.* 

Lamp.  G. 

May.  L.  the  month 

Orb.  L. 

Pique.  P. 

Lance.  L. 

Meal.  F. 

Ore.  L. 

Pix.  L. 

Lapse.  L. 

Mean.  L.  middle 

Ounce.  L. 

Place.  P. 

Lar.  L. 

Mere.  I.  L. 

Oust.  F. 

Plague.  O. 

Larch.  L. 

Merge.  L. 

Pace.  F. 

Plain.  L. 

Lard.  L. 

Merle.  L. 

Pact.  L. 

Plait.  L. 

Large.  L. 

Mess.  P. 

Page.  L. 

Plan.  F. 

Laud,  L. 

Mew.  F. 

Page.  F. 

Planch.  P. 

Lave.  L. 

Mien.  F. 

Pail.  G.  S. 

Plane.  L. 

Lawn(cloM).  8. 

Mime.  G. 

Paint.  P. 

Plunk.  F. 

Lax.  L. 

Mine.  F. 

Pair.  L. 

Plant.  L. 

Lay.  G.  the  laity. 

Mix.  L.* 

Pale.  L.  (n.) 

Plasm.  G. 

Lay.  F.  a  song. 

Moat.  F. 

Pale.  L.  (a.) 

Plat.  G. 

League.  F. 

Mob.  L. 

Pall.  I,.*  a  cloth. 

Plate.  S.  G. 

Lease.  F. 

Mock.  F.  G. 

Palm.  L. 

Plea.  F. 

Leash.  P. 

Mode.  F. 

Pane.  F. 

Plead.  F.  L. 

Lees.  F. 

Moil.  F. 

Pant.  F. 

Please.  F. 

Lens.  L. 

Moist.  F. 

Pap.  L.*  a  teat. 

Pledge.  F. 

Liege.  P. 

Mole.  L.  a  mound 

Pap.  L.  *  soft,  food 

Plinth.  G. 

Lieu.  F. 

Mome.  F. 

Par.  L.  equality. 

Pluuib.  F. 

Lime.  F. 

Mood.  L.  in  gram- 

Pard. L. 

Plume.  L. 

Limn.  F. 

mar. 

Pare.  F. 

Plunge.  P. 

Line.  L.  (noun.) 

Moor.  L.  an  Afri- 

Parse. L. 

Poach.  F. 

Link.  G. 

can. 

Part.  L. 

Point.  L. 

Lint.  L. 

Mop.  L. 

Pasch.   G. 

Poise.  F. 

List.  F.  I. 

Mosque.  P. 

Pass.  L.* 

Pole.  G. 

Loach.  P. 

Mount.  F. 

Paste.  L. 

Pomp.  G. 

Lobe.  G. 

Move.  L. 

Paunch.  L. 

Poop.  L. 

Long.  L.  (adj.) 

Mulct.  L. 

Pause.  G. 

Poor.  F. 

Lote.  G. 

Mule.  L. 

Pave.  L. 

Pope.  L. 

Lounge.  F. 

Mull.  L.  wine. 

Pawn  (chess)  S. 

Porch.  F. 

Luce.  L. 

Mumm.  G- 

Pay.  F. 

Pore.  G. 

Luff.  F. 

Munch.  F. 

Peace.  L. 

Pork.  L. 

Lurch.  I. 

Mure.  L.  to  wall. 

Peach.  F. 

Port.  L.  mien. 

Lure.  F. 

Muse.  L. 

Peel.  F. 

Port.  L.  a  gate. 

Lute.  F. 

Musk.  L. 

Peep.  Ls 

Port.  L.  a  harbour 

Lymph.  L. 

Must.  L. 

Peer.  F. 

Post.  L. 

Lynx.  L. 

Must.  F. 

Peg.  G. 

Pot.  F. 

Lyre.  L. 

Mute.  L. 

Pelt.  L.  (n.) 

Potch.  P. 

Mace.  L.  a  club. 

Mute.  P. 

Pelt.  L.  (v.) 

Poule.  F. 

Mace.   L.   a  kind 

Nave.  L. 

Pen.  L. 

Poult.  L. 

of  spice. 

Nard.  G. 

Perch.  F.  a  mea- 

Pounce.     P.     L, 

Mail.  F.  armour. 

Neat.  F. 

sure. 

powder. 

Mail.  F.  a  bag. 

Nep.  L.  a  plant. 

Perch.  L.  a  fish. 

Pounce.  S.  talon 

Male.  F. 

Nerve.  L. 

Phlegm.  G. 

Pout.  F. 

Kail.  L. 

Net.  F. 

Phrase.  G. 

Praise.  F. 

Mange.  F. 

Niche.  F. 

Pie.  F. 

Pray.  F. 

Map.  L. 

Niece.  F. 

Piece.  F. 

Preach.  P. 

March.    L.    the 

Node.  L. 

Pierce.  F. 

Press.  L. 

month. 

Noise.  F. 

Pike.  F. 

Prest,  F. 

March.  F. 

Nome.  G, 

Pile.  L.  hair. 

Prey.  F. 

Marque.  P. 

Noose.  F. 

Pile.  L.  a  heap. 

Price.   F.* 

Mars.  L. 

Note.  L. 

Prime.  L. 

CLASSICAL   MONOSYLLABLES. 


357 


Prince.  P. 

Print.  F. 

Reins.  L.  kidneys. 
Rest.    L.   as   '  the 

Seal.  L.  a  stamp. 
Search.  F. 

Stage.  F. 
Stanch.  F. 

Prize.  P. 

rest  of,'  t&c. 

Seat.  L. 

State.  L. 

Prompt.  L. 

Rheum,  G. 

Sect.  L. 

Stay.  F. 

Prone.  L. 

Rhomb.  G. 

See.  L.  (noun.) 

Stew.  F. 

Prose   L 

Rice,  G. 

Seel.  F. 

Still.     L.     distil- 

Prow. F.    (nauti- 

Bill. L. 

Seize.  F. 

lation. 

cal.) 

Risk.  F. 

Sell.  L. 

Stole.  L. 

Prow.  F.  valiant 

Rite.  F. 

Sense.  L. 

Strain.  L. 

Prude.  F. 

Roan.  F. 

Serf.  F. 

Strait.  L. 

Prune.  L. 

Roast.  F. 

Serge.  F. 

Strange.  F. 

Psalm.  G. 

Robe.  F. 

Serve.  F. 

Strict,  L. 

Pule.  F. 

Rock.  F. 

Sex.  F. 

Style.  L. 

Pulp.  L. 

Roist.  F. 

Sheet.  F.  (nauti- 

Sue. F. 

Pulse.  L. 

Roll.  F. 

cal.) 

Suit.  F. 

Pump.  F. 

Rook.  F. 

Shock.  F. 

Sum.  L. 

Punch.  I. 

Rose.  F. 

Shot.  F. 

Surd.  L. 

Pure.  L. 

Rouge.  F. 

Sice.  L.  (at  dice.) 

Sure.  F. 

Purge.  L. 

Round.  F. 

Siege.  F. 

Sr.rge.  L. 

Purl.  I. 

Rout.  F. 

Sign.  F. 

Sylph.  G. 

Purse.  F. 

Route.  F. 

Sine.  L. 

Syrt.  L. 

Pus.  L. 

Rude.  F. 

Sir.  F. 

Tack.  F. 

Push.  F. 

Rule.  F. 

Sire.  F. 

Tact.  L. 

Pyre.  G. 

Ruse.  F. 

Site.  L. 

Taint.  L. 

Quaff.  F. 

Rut.  F.  the  track 

Skain.—  Skein.  F. 

Tan.  F. 

Quail.  F.  a  bird. 

of  a  wheel. 

Sketch.  I. 

Tang.  G. 

Quaint.  L. 

Sack.      F.     sweet 

Slate.  F. 

Tant.  F. 

Quart.  F. 

wine. 

Sneer.  L. 

Tap.  F. 

Quay.  F. 

Safe.  F. 

Soar.  F. 

Tare.  F. 

Quest.  F. 

Sage.  F. 

Sock.  L. 

Tart,  F. 

Quill.  F. 

Sage.  F.  a  plant. 

Soil.  L.  earth. 

Task.  F. 

Quilt.  L. 

Saint.  F. 

Sole.  F.  (noun.) 

Taste.  F. 

Quince.  F. 

Salt.  L.  a  leap. 

Sole.  F.  (adj.) 

Taunt.  F. 

Quint.  F. 

Sane.  F. 

Solve.  L. 

Tax.  F. 

Quire.  G. 

Sans.  F. 

Sore.  F. 

Tell.  L. 

Quire.  F.  sheets  of 

Sap.  F.  (verb.) 

Sort.  L. 

Tempt.  L. 

paper. 

Sash.  F. 

Sound.  L. 

Tench.  L. 

Quit.  F. 

Sate.  L. 

Source.  L. 

Tend.  L. 

Quite.  F. 

Save.  F. 

Souse.  L. 

Tense.  L.  in  gram- 

Quote. F. 

Say,  F. 

Space.  L. 

mar. 

Race.  F.  lineage. 

Scald.  F. 

Sparse.  L. 

Tense.  L.  tight. 

Raft.  L. 

Scale.  L. 

Sphere.  G. 

Tent.  L. 

Rag.  G. 

Scan.  L. 

Sphinx.  G. 

Terse.  L. 

Rage.  F. 

Scar.  G. 

Spice.  F.  L. 

Test.  L. 

Ramp.  F. 

Scarce.  F.  L. 

Spike.  L. 

Text.  L. 

Range.  F. 

Scarf.  F. 

Spine.  L. 

Theme.  G. 

Rap.  L. 

Scene.  G. 

Spire.  G. 

Threne.  G. 

Rape.  L. 

Scent.  L. 

Spiss.  L. 

Throb.  G. 

Rape.  L.  a  plant. 

Scheme.  G. 

Spleen.  G. 

Throne.  L. 

Rare.  F. 

School.  L. 

Spoil.  L. 

Thrust.  L. 

Rase.  L. 

Scoff.  G. 

Sponge.  L. 

Thyme.  G. 

Rate.  L. 

Scope.  G. 

Spouse.  L. 

Tick.  F. 

Ray.  F.  light. 

Scot.      F.       tax. 

Spume.  L. 

Tierce.  F. 

Ray.  L.  a  fish. 

share. 

Spurge.  L. 

Tiff.  F. 

Raze.  L.  a  root  of 

Scout.  F. 

Spy.  F. 

Tinge.  L. 

ginger. 

Scourge.  F. 

Squad.  F. 

Toast.  L. 

Raze.  L. 

Screen.  F. 

Square.  L. 

Toil.  L. 

Rear.  L. 

Scribe.  F. 

Squill.  L. 

Tomb.  G. 

Reign.  F. 

Srrc.ll.  F. 

Staff.     F.     (mili-  Tome.  G. 

Reiu.  F. 

Scroyle.  F. 

tary.)                    Tone.  L. 

358 


APPENDIX. 


Tope.  F. 

Trine.  L. 

Vail.  F. 

Verse.  L. 

Torch.  F. 

Tripe.  F. 

Vain.  L. 

Vert.  L. 

Tort,  F. 

Triat,  L. 

Vale.  L. 

Vest,  F. 

Touch.  F. 

Trite.  L. 

Valve.  L. 

Vetch.  L. 

Tour.  F. 

Troop.  F. 

Van.  F. 

Vex.  L. 

Trace.  L. 

Trope.  G. 

Vase.  L. 

Vice.  L. 

Track.  L. 

Trot.  F. 

Vast.  ]j. 

Vice.  F.  apreti 

Tract.  L. 

Trounce.  F. 

Vault.  L.  (n.) 

View.  F. 

Trade.  L. 

Truce.  F. 

Vault.  L.  (v.) 

Vile.  L. 

Train.  F. 

Truck.  F. 

Vaunt.       F.       to 

Vine.  L. 

Trait.  F. 

Truck.  G. 

boast. 

Vogue.  F. 

Trance.  L. 

Trump.  F. 

Vaunt.  F.  the  first 

Voice.  F. 

Trap.  F. 

Trunk.  L. 

dart. 

Void.  L. 

Trave,  F. 

Truss.  F. 

Veal.  P. 

Vote.  F. 

Tray.  L. 

Try.  F. 

Veer.  F. 

Vouch.  L. 

Treat.  F. 

Tube.  L. 

Veil.  L. 

Vow.  F. 

Trench.  F. 

Tuft.  F. 

Vein.  L. 

Wage.  L. 

Tress.  F. 

Tune.  L. 

Vend.  L. 

Wait.  L. 

Tret.  L.  (?) 

Type.  G. 

Venge.  L. 

Wall.  L. 

Trey.  F. 

Urge.  L. 

Vent.  L.  (?) 

Wince.  L. 

Tribe.  L. 

Urn.  L. 

Verb.  L. 

Zeal.  G. 

m-:ck.  L. 

Use.L. 

Verge.  L.  (n.) 

Zone.  G.* 

L 


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